Someone Like Me
by HaleyBub
Summary: xMegan, I know a lot about not letting people in, to protect yourself. But I wanna know what you're like, you know? All I'm asking for is a chance...x The podcast is over, and I keep looking at her picture. Peyton Sawyer. The big sister I never knew I had
1. Your other daughter

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters, except for Megan and her parents. Some things about the plot will be similar to the show, anything different is mine too. I don't own anything you'll recognize from the show, although I'd love it if someone read any of my stories and went like: hey, that'd be good for the show, so let's put it there! And then I'd be a screewriter and people would write fanfictions and would be like: I don't own anything because some person (that would be me!) was the one who created all this plot! dreams Okay, I'm sorry, I'll stop now! I hope you like the idea of the story, and let me know what you think! Oh, and the song is named after a song by Atomic Kitten.

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**Chapter 01 – Your other daughter**

I hate my parents! That is, of course, if I can even call them parents. Most of the time, they don't even remember they have a daughter. And, apparently, they hate each other too. They're discussing one more time, and they're so loud I can hear everything they say from the second floor. They're fighting about Elizabeth again. See, my parents were pretty young when they got married, my mom was 22 and he was 23. It seems my father cheated on my mother with this 18 year old girl, about 5 years before I was born. The girl – or so they keep saying – was a drug addict who didn't really care about what happened in her life. But still my father managed to be even worse: he didn't tell the girl he had gotten married the year before. My mother found out, and, about two weeks later, Elizabeth was gone. Dad keeps saying it was one huge coincidence, but I think he did something. Not that he killed her or anything like that, god no. Maybe he just… scared her away. What an ass! Sure, the girl was no saint, but she did think he was single. And, as far as his story goes, she never knew he was lying. So, to cut a long story short: it's been 18 years, and they still fight about it. I mean, get over it already!

Sometimes I catch myself thinking of how this girl was like. Dad says she was blonde, just like me, and then my mom sometimes interrupts him and says maybe I'm Elizabeth's daughter and he changed the babies while she was at the hospital. When I'm really pissed at her I just yell something like: yeah, I wish I was! Anything would be better than the parents I have, that's for sure.

So I've pretty much been on my own since I was old enough to grab the phone and call the pizza place. My grades in school are not that bad, which is more than I can say about my reputation with the principal. The man must hate me. Specially cause every time he says he's gonna call my parents I laugh to his face and mumble a "good luck". Loud enough for him to hear, of course.

"Why do you keep bringing her up, damn it! It's been too long, I've never even seen her again!" my dad suddenly snaps.

"Oh really? How about your daughter?" Me? What the hell's my crazy mother talking about? What do _I_ have to do with any of this?

"What? Megan? What does she have to do with it?" Wow! They actually know I exist. And he remembers my name too, gotta give him credit for that. But this fight's getting too boring for my taste. I get out of bed, turn the stereo on and look for a CD. Led Zeppelin, that's good enough. But before the first song starts, I hear my mother's voice again.

"No, not Megan. Your other daughter."

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_So? Do you like it, hate it? Things will be better explained later on, I promise! All you gotta know so far is that it takes place on the first episodes of S4, and that, when Peyton found that note from Ellie, it said that she has a little sister, not a big brother. That's the whole idea. And it's gonna be on Megan's POV too. Cause we already know how Peyton dealt with it, so I thought it'd be interesting to see how this would affect the girl, and her thoughts on it. Please review! Sorry this is a short chapter, it's kind of a prologue, they will get longer, and I should probably update again in a few days! Thank you for reading._


	2. People always leave

_Hey guys... here's the next chapter! Thank you for the ones who reviewed, I hope you like the way the story's going. Things will be explained a little better in this chapter, and well... the pieces will fit together soon enough! It'll take a while before Megan actually meets Peyton, I just felt it'd be better to get to know the character well first, and let some things happen in the story before the two of them actually meet. I'm already working on the latest chapters, so the updates shouldn't take too long for now. Hope you like it, thanks for reading!_**

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**Chapter 02 – People always leave**

It's been a little more than two weeks since the "other daughter" fight. Right after my mom asked my dad about it, the music started on my stereo, and I couldn't hear anything else. Not that I would have, even without the music. At that moment I was in shock. I didn't know what to think, there was just too much in my head and I couldn't make sense out of anything. Then I heard a loud bang on my door that brought me back to reality, followed by my mom, yelling, telling me to turn off the music, cause it was late already. And that was it. They didn't even mention anything when I was around, but they now fought all the time, so much more than they did before. I wonder if they're totally oblivious to my presence in this house, or just plain stupid. I mean, how could they think for one second that I wouldn't listen to them screaming at each other all the time? And, from the fights, I was able to gather some information about his secret daughter. She was Elizabeth's, no big surprise there. She sent him a letter, about a year after she left him, telling him she got pregnant with a girl, and then found out he was already married, so she decided to give her up for adoption. She even told him the name of the girl's foster parents, but she probably knew he was never gonna bother to look for them. He wasn't that kind of guy. He never answered the letter, or even tried to get in touch with Elizabeth or their daughter. He though he had thrown the letter out. My mom was going through some photo albums and documents when she found it. Hence the fight.

And, six days ago, my dad left. It was late at night – their favorite time of the day to start fighting - , I heard the usual yelling but couldn't stand their same old crap anymore, so I went online and tried to get distracted. But then I heard his car. I went to the window and saw it leaving the parkway, with a bunch of his stuff inside. Then my mom opened the door to my room.

"He's gone". That was all she said, then closed the door and left. There wasn't any emotion in her voice. Sometimes I doubt she's even a human being. I kept looking at the window, and somehow I knew he was never coming back. To my own surprise, I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I let them fall for a while, but then quickly wiped them off with the back of my hand. Crying doesn't solve problems, doesn't make things better. It only makes you weaker.

So, basically, those six days have been like hell. Not cause I miss him, I honestly don't, but mom doesn't have anyone to yell at when she comes back from work, so she decided she wants us to bond now. The woman's completely crazy. She's never been there when I actually needed her, and now that she's bored and doesn't know what to do with herself she comes to me? Go to hell, mom! As much as I try not to, I keep thinking about dad's other daughter. Oh, well, my _sister_. Sister… Half sister, but still, it's pretty weird. I've always been an only child, and I'm good this way. I wonder of she knows about me, or that waste I have to call 'my father'. Then I decide not to think about her anymore. Enough of that. I just have to get distracted and not think of my screwed up parents, or anyone related to any of them. I mean, my dad's bad enough, but him, with some crazy drug addict? No good can possibly come from such union.

People in school have no idea of what happened. Sure, I've got friends, we hang out, we sit at the same table at lunch time, but that's as far as it goes. You let them get too close, they get too much power. The power to hurt you for real. It's not worth it. So, when I really need to talk about something, I write. I write poems, or I just put random thoughts into the paper. It always helps. It's easier than taking the risk and trusting someone. What if I trusted my father? What if I actually relyed on him? I'd be devastated by now, wondering where he is and hurting like hell, cause I'd have that hope he could come back. That's what getting attached to people does to you. Sure, it's great while it lasts. But let me tell you something: people _always_ leave. And when they do, you can only count on yourself to pick up the pieces and try to move on.

Oh, and things get even better! My mom lost her job yesterday! Great, huh? And it's not like we need the money or anything, but she's the kind of person that _has_ to do something, all the time. Otherwise she'll go crazy, and drive _me_ insane too. So today she drove me to school, which she hadn't done since I was like 10, and when my classes were over, there she was, waiting for me! We went out to eat something. That's when it happened.

"Meg? Mommy needs to talk to you." She's calling me Meg? And talking to me like I'm 3 years old. Oh, that can't be good! I look at her, already annoyed, and she goes on. "You remember Karen Roe?"

"Your friend in Tree Hill? I thought you hadn't talked to her since you and dad moved out of there!"

"Well, yeah… kinda. We kept in touch from time to time. She has a café and a club there. When I told her I lost my job, well, she asked me if I was interested in working with her, help with the legal issues and management." I really don't like that smile she has on her face.

"What?" I yell, "You wanna go back to Tree Hill? I thought you hated it there!" Not to mention that my 'sister' apparently lives there too, but it's not like I can say that, she doesn't have a clue I know about the girl.

"It's not that big deal, Tree Hill is like two hours from here, honey. You'll still be able to see your friends…"

"My friends?" I have to chuckle at that. The woman certainly doesn't know the first thing about me. This is the least of my worries right now. "I grew up with you constantly saying how much that place sucked, now you wanna move back there?"

"It wasn't about the place, it was about your father. But now…" she sighs, "now I think I'm ready to face it."

"That's great, mom. What about me, huh? Do you even care if _I'm_ ready to leave it all behind like that?"

"Megan, we _are_ going, I've already made up my mind. We leave in a week."

"Thanks for the food, mom, it was great", I push my plate to her direction and leave the place, ignoring whatever she's complaining about now. I walk back to my house, glad to see she's not there yet. The phone's ringing, so I take a deep breath and pick it up, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Hello?" For a while no one says anything, so I say it again, already getting mad at whoever's doing this shit. "Hello?" Then I hear this hesitant voice on the other side.

"Hi, is… is Megan Turner there?"

"That's me, do I know you?"

"Well, not really. My name's Peyton Sawyer, I'm Elizabeth Harp's daughter, and…" She doesn't have time to finish it, cause I hang up on her. Great, just _great!_


	3. Just one chance

**Chapter 03 – Just one chance**

How can she do that? Was she planning on saying something like "hey, I'm your sister, let's hang out"? I seriously don't get what's wrong with people these days.

I hear my mom's car, so I run to my room and lock the door. And even before the front door opens, my stereo's so loud I can't even listen to the thoughts in my head. After a while I'm so bored I even pick my backpack, go through some school books and start doing homework. The music doesn't bother me, it never did. It even helps sometimes.

After doing Math, Chem and Bio, I write an essay for English. It's official: nothing else to do. There's no way I'm leaving this room for now, although it's been like 4 hours my mom got home. So I get my laptop and lay down in bed with it. I start writing something, but soon I'll realize I won't be able to write anything half decent today. I can only think of one thing, "Peyton Sawyer, Elizabeth Harp's daughter". I don't wanna have anything to do with the girl, I really don't. But, finally, curiosity gets the best of me and I google her name. She has a page on myspace and a podcast. I go through her page, and it turns out she likes a lot of the same music I do. And she draws! I see some of them, they're really amazing. But one of them in particular catches my eyes. It says _People Always Leave_. That's way too freaky, I say that all the time! There are some pictures of her. She's blonde, just like dad said Elizabeth was, and just like I am. Her dressing style is a lot like mine. Too bad I can't draw like her. She has some pictures with friends, they seem to be cool. Maybe I should download one of her podcasts. Just the latest, to see what she's like.

"Hey guys, Peyton here. So, you already know how screwed up my family is, with Ellie showing up last year, telling me she was my birth mother, and then… well, then when we were starting to bond and get closer, she couldn't fight cancer anymore, she died", she sighs, and stops for a while, then goes on, "But now… I just found out I have a sister too! I know, I bet you didn't see that one coming, right? God knows I didn't. I got my Led Zeppelin album, and then this note, from Ellie, slipped out. I have a sister named Megan", at that moment I'm the one who needs a break.

That Ellie person she keeps referring to _has_ to be Elizabeth, right? Which means she's dead. It's a little weird, after all these years hearing her name being said on a daily basis, it's almost like I knew her. And when I hear she died, I feel this knot on my stomach for some reason. And it gets worse when she starts talking about _me!_ It's surreal, really.

"There was a phone number, which I called after about two days looking at the note, not knowing what to do. And then she hung up on me. Just now, like 2 minutes ago. I guess she must be a lot like me, then. But Megan, if by any chance you're listening to this… trust me, I know a lot about not letting people in, to protect yourself. And you have no idea how hard it is to say this to everyone who might download this thing, cause I'm saying it only for you. I wanna know what you're like, you know? It's weird, I've always been an only child and suddenly I find out about you. And it must be even weirder for you, I mean, you're younger than me, right? If I'm having all this trouble dealing with it, I can only imagine the mess your mind must be right now. But all I'm asking for is a chance. Just one chance." She stops, again, and sighs. "Speaking of chances, the chances you did hear this are pretty slim. So, anyway, you guys, as always, thanks for hearing my ramblings about my messed up life. Some of you are probably thinking I'm making all this stuff up to get attention or something by now, huh? Sometimes not even I believe this is real life. But it's Tree Hill after all, in this city you have to be ready for everything… So… bye guys. I'll let you know how things turn out."

The podcast is over, and yet I keep listening, as if she might say something else. And there's just silence. I keep looking at her picture. It seems she's been through a lot. If she only found out about her birth mother, then maybe she didn't even know she was adopted. And then Elizabeth dies. I wonder if my father has any idea she's gone. Either way, maybe the thing is actually about my… well… _our_ father. It doesn't matter that he's an ass, she deserves to know where she came from. I wish there was a way I could tell her about him without actually having to meet her. "All I'm asking for is a chance". I keep thinking about what she said. But I don't see why I should trust her. I'm usually not very lucky with this family thing. I've only met one grandparent, my mom's father, and he was nice, we used to talk a lot. But then he died when I was 9. He was the only nice relative I ever had.

Suddenly the room is too silent, and I can listen to my mom walking around the house. She knocks on my door again, this time I open it.

"Feeling a little calmer now?"

"Maybe", I say, not even facing her, "But why can't we just stay here? What happened there, it's in the past, so why can't the city be a part of that past too?" I'm already losing my patience again.

"I told you, it's decided. It's a good place, you'll see. Maybe there you won't be so…" Oh, here it comes… So angry? So stubborn? So difficult? "…lonely", she finishes it, to my surprise.

"What makes you think I'm lonely here? You don't even know me, mom" I lower my head. This is all really weird for me. It's the first time she talks to me, for real, in a long time.

"Well, maybe this is our chance to start over. All I'm asking for is a chance, Megan", I immediately look up when she says that, then I nod quietly. She kisses me on the forehead and leaves the room.

I don't really believe in destiny and stuff like that, but that _had_ to be some sort of a sign. I mean, she used the _exact same_ words. "In this city, you have to be ready for everything." I remember the podcast. I guess I'll see it myself next week. It can't be that bad. Right?


	4. Piece by piece

**Chapter 04 – Piece by piece**

"MEEEEEEG!" Here it comes. We got to this city two days ago, and every single time she can't find something, she calls me. As if _I_ would be able to find anything in this mess! "Have you seen my black dress?"

"Which one, mom?"

"My favorite one, that makes me look professional and responsible, that I use all the time."

"I have no idea", I smile and she keeps walking around, nervous. She's gonna go see Karen, get to know the place she'll work in, so she wants to look perfect. Which is not hard for her, really, but it doesn't keep her from freaking out.

Our house here is amazing! I swore to myself I wasn't gonna like it, as a part of the whole "I'm hating every single thing about this idea" thing, but I have to give in to that. The town doesn't do anything for me, or at least what I've seen of it so far. No wonder my parents left, it's a wasteland over here. I barely got out of the house, though. I guess I'm really freaked out, I mean, what if I see Peyton, or one of those people I've seen in pictures with her? Sure, she won't even know it's me, but here's the thing… Tree Hill is pretty damn small. She'll end up finding out that I'm here, eventually, and I have no idea what I'll do then. So I'm kinda hiding. But anyway, our house. It's even bigger than the one we had back in Charlotte, and that one was already big! My room's bigger too, which means more space for my CD's and all my notebooks with everything I write. I have a nice view of the river that cuts this town in half, and I remember seeing a basketball court somewhere near. Cute guys playing basketball? Can't hurt to take a look sometimes.

Mom gave me a free pass not to go to school for a week, so I can adjust first. It's the least she could do, since she won't start working till next week either. Speaking of the devil… she just passed by my room and waved goodbye. I was nice enough to wish her good luck with Karen, even though I still have hopes that it won't work out and she'll come home determined to go back to Charlotte and forget about her crazy plan. I sit in my room, alone in this huge house for the first time since I got here, and sigh. Nothing's really gonna change, I guess. Only the place, and the fact that my dad's not here anymore. To my surprise, I find myself wanting to get out of the bedroom, something that's extremely unusual for me. I guess everything that's happened over the last month starts to sink in, and I just wished there was someone I could talk to. I grab my laptop and go to the front porch, sit, and the verses start to appear in my head, as I type them all, as fast as I can, trying not to let anything slip away.

_I can't begin to think  
__To wonder what I need  
__How can I ever show  
__I can't do this on my own_

_So I run  
__From the distance I stop and turn  
__But there's no one_

_Piece by piece  
__Dream by dream  
__It's all so quick  
__They're torn away from me_

_Thought by thought  
__And word by word  
__I've always yelled  
__You've never heard_

_The loudest of the screams can be yelled  
__Without a sound_

That's the way it works with me. The words come rushing through my head, as if the poem has already been written, it just needs someone to put it on paper. Sometimes I write, and when I'm finally done, it's amazing. It all fits. It's almost as if I throw a bunch of words there, and they rearrange themselves till it all makes sense. My poems are a completely different part of me than what people know. If someone ever read them, they'd have a hard time believing I was the one who wrote them. Hell, sometimes _I_ have a hard time believing it. They show my vulnerable side, which I really hate! That's why I don't let anyone read them. And I mean it. The Pope could come here in person and ask me, I still wouldn't let him. It'd be weird, though. I'm sure he has more important stuff to do.

Just as I'm finishing writing, a couple of girls who were passing by the house suddenly stop.

"New in the neighborhood, huh?" one of them, red-haired, asks.

"New in town, actually", I answer, not even looking at her.

"So, you have any hot older brother in there?" the other one asks, smirking.

I look at them and grin. "Sorry to disappoint you, just me and mommy dearest", I roll my eyes while saying the two last words.

"Oh well, nice knowing you, then", the red-haired shrugs and starts leaving, but the brunette doesn't move. "Absentee parents?' she asks.

"Oh no! Absentee, crazy for a fight, with mysterious other daughter I've never met parents", she keeps looking and doesn't say anything. "What?" I ask.

"Nothing, you just… remind me of someone I used to know. But anyway… don't worry. With this history, you'll feel right at home here."

"Great", I mumble as the two of them start to walk away. I soon see them entering one of the other big houses on my street. And then my mom's car comes. She looks happy. So much for my hopes of ever going back home.

"Karen was so great! That café of hers is really cozy, but I definitely loved the club. She has someone to help her get the bands, but the girl's pretty young, so aside from doing the whole legal part, I'll also help the girl, you know, with the management part. And you should see her son! She showed me some pictures of him. I'd seen Lucas before, when he was about 2 years old, and now he's 18! Can you believe how fast times goes by?"

"L… Lucas? That's her son's name?" I gulp. Mom nods happily and keeps babbling. An 18 year old named Lucas? How many of them can there possibly be in this town? I try to remember the picture. "Mom? How is he?" I ask, not sure if I wanna hear the answer.

"Oh, he's so handsome! Blond, tall, hazel eyes… and too old for you in case you're having any ideas, missy!" I feel my stomach do that rolling and turning upside down thing. Little did I know the worst part was yet to come. "But you'll see it for yourself. I invited him and Karen to dinner tomorrow."

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_Hehe, little cliffie! I love those! But I'm not that mean, I only do them when I already have the next chapter ready! I hope you like the story so far, thank you for everyone who's been reviewing, you know how much it means for a writer! Oh, and the title of this chapter and the stuff Megan writes, I took it from a poem by... well... me! LOL! Actually, two of my poems, the last part is from another one! Please review!_


	5. How's Peyton doing?

_See? Told you I wasn't gonna keep you guys waiting for too long! So here's next chapter! I hope you like the way dinner goes on, and the way Lucas and Megan meet. Thank you so much for all of you who have been reviewing, and keep the reviews coming, cause I love 'em!_**

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**Chapter 05 – How's Peyton doing?**

I get out of the shower, get dressed and try not to go crazy. Karen and Lucas are supposed to get here in about an hour. I tried to get out of having to be here for dinner, but it's not like I'd have anywhere else to be. I don't have any friends here yet, and even if I lied to my mom and got out of the house, I wouldn't know where to go.

The bell rings. It's been an hour already? Yup, apparently it has. My mom calls me to the living room, and as soon as I get there, she opens the door. I'm about to pass out any minute now, when I notice Karen's alone.

"Karen! It's great to have you here!" My mom hugs her and she hands my mom a box. "I brought dessert, chocolate and cherry cake."

I immediately jump on my mother's direction to get a good look at the yummyness she's caring, causing them both to laugh. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for cakes and chocolate. So far, so good. Perfect amazing dessert and no sign of Lucas.

"Karen, this is my daughter, Megan", she introduces us.

"Hey Megan, how do you like Tree Hill so far?" Damn it, she really seems nice. I was hoping she'd be a bitch so I could blame the moving on her and go to my room, refusing to apologize. But she's not. So I can't help being nice to her too. "It's… it's a big change", I give her a small smile, that she returns, understandingly.

"So… where's Lucas?" my mom finally asks.

"Oh… yeah, Lucas. I'm so sorry, Susan, he's at a friend's house, she needed to talk and…" I breathe out a sigh of relief as she talks, that I hope they didn't notice. Seems everything's gonna be fine after all. "…so he'll be a little late." Or not!

They go to the kitchen and I hear them talking about how time passes by so quickly, or how big the 'kids', that being me and Lucas, are, and all that stuff moms love to talk about when they get together. Except mine has never really been the 'mom' type. And, looking at her and Karen, she seems different. Or maybe it's just me, getting my hopes up again, only to be proved wrong later on. After about 20 minutes, the bell rings once again. "Oh, that's probably Lucas", I hear Karen saying.

"Honey, could you get that? I'll be there in a second", mom says. So I open the door and there he is. If this was a TV show or a soap opera or something, it'd be the perfect time for intermission, with the look I have on my face and this guy just standing there, clueless. Yup, that's the same Lucas I saw in that picture. Only he looks so much cuter in person!

"Hey, I'm Lucas… my mom said she'd be here, and that I should stop by…"

"Yeah, sure, they're in the kitchen", I let him in and see Karen and my mom coming. Karen hugs her son.

"Lucas, that's Susanna Turner, an old friend from high school. And that's her daughter, Megan." When she says my name, I swear he almost jumps. But the two moms are too distracted talking to each other, they don't even notice. He greets my mom, apologizes for being late, and my mom announces dinner will be ready in less than 10 minutes. As soon as they leave the room, he turns his attention back to me. "So… you're Megan Turner?"

"Yup, that's my name", I try to look kinda confused, as if I had no idea why he was asking that. Guess Peyton told him about me, they're friends, he knows who I am, he's gonna tell her I'm here in Tree Hill… I'm definitely getting a migraine!

We're both in silence for a while, and finally my mom says dinner's ready. When everyone's settled, with food on their plates, the chit chat starts again between Karen and my mom, and Lucas keeps… looking at me. Which I'd find very flattering, by the way, if I didn't know any better.

"So, Lucas, how's Peyton doing?" Karen asks, and I spill juice all over the table when I hear her name. It was _her_ house he was in, just now? "I'm _so_ sorry, I'll go get something to clean this up", I say and run to the kitchen. I hear Karen saying 'these things happen'. I get to the kitchen table and put my hands on it, trying to get some support. I look down and just breathe, trying to calm down. And then someone's hands appear as if from nowhere, offering me a glass of water. I look up, surprised to see Lucas. I step back at first, but then take the water, still avoiding eye contact with him.

"So it's really you", he says, sitting close to where I am.

"I have no idea what you're talking about", I stop and face him, "We should get back", I try to leave, but he grabs my arm, calling my name softly. "Get off me!" I push him away and go back to the dining room.

"Honey, everything ok?" My mom asks me, as soon as I get back on the table. "Sure mom, why?"

"Well, you said you'd get something to clean this up, you went, took a while and came back with empty hands", she smiles, concerned.

"It's ok, I offered to help her with it", Lucas comes from the kitchen with a towel and cleans the juice I spilled. "Thanks", I whisper, not wanting to face him.

The rest of the dinner doesn't get much better. I end up finding out that Peyton's the girl who works at Karen's club. The three of them start talking about school. God knows why my mom was suddenly so interested in knowing about the quality of the schools in Tree Hill, back home she never cared about it. In fact, I don't think she even knew the name of the school I went to. When they talk about how safe Tree Hill is, the subject of the school shooting comes up. I saw it on the news when it happened, a girl was shot, a guy was killed, and the kid who did it all killed himself. Lucas suddenly becomes very quiet.

"The man who died…" Karen explains, "He was Lucas' uncle, almost a father to him, actually."

"Oh my god, Lucas, Karen, I'm so sorry, I had no idea…" My mom keeps apologizing till they guarantee it's ok. I just listen quietly to their conversation, playing with my food.

"It was a dark day… Jimmy, the kid who did it, he used to be Lucas' friend, it's hard to believe he'd shoot Peyton, then, well… do what he did."

"Peyton's the girl who got shot?" I speak for the first time in a long time, drawing attention from everyone on the table. Karen just nods and I try my best not to look at Lucas. If he had any doubt before, which I highly doubt, now he's sure of who I am. I just got… so worried about her when Karen said she was the one shot. I know, I know it doesn't make any sense, we're strangers to each other. Sometimes not even I understand myself.

Dinner's over, so mom brings Karen's cake to the table. I almost attack it and eat like one third of it, once again amusing everyone else. Yes, I'm _that_ sad when it comes to my chocolate addiction. Karen insists on helping with the dishes, which is good cause we don't have a housekeeper yet, but also bad cause it means Lucas and I will be alone again.

"I'm sorry… about before. I didn't mean to scare you or anything", Lucas says truthfully.

"You didn't, it's ok. I'm sorry too", I think about it for a while, and continue, "This is all just very… confusing." He seems surprised I even brought it up.

"You know I was the one who convinced her to call you?" he smiles, "It's scary for her too, you know?" I nod quietly.

"What's she like?" I suddenly hear myself asking the question. Once again, curiosity got the best of me.

"She's been through a lot, so it's hard for her to let people in. But once she does, she's got an amazing heart. She's a great friend, but lately she's been struggling with some things. And you kinda look like her, which is weird, cause she looks a lot like Ellie too", we both smile.

"Did you get the chance to… did you know Elizabeth?"

"I talked to her once or twice, but I didn't know her, really. It was tough on Peyton when she came to town… I'm surprised you know who she is."

"Long story."

"So… can I ask you something?" I nod and he speaks again. "What are you afraid of?" he asks, carefully.

"You know… disappointment, getting hurt, the usual", I smile sadly at him, "or maybe getting my mom hurt on the process", he looks curious, so I explain. "My parents had been fighting about Elizabeth since I can remember. Actually, since way before I can remember! And when my mom found out he had another daughter, it became unbearable for them to be under the same roof, so he left."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok", I shrug, "Most of the times I don't even notice the difference", I look at him, "Now, can I ask _you_ something?"

"Ask away."

"Could you not tell her anything?" He opens his mouth to protest, but I go on, "At least not for now. Please, Lucas, I'm just not ready yet, ok?" He doesn't say anything, then sighs. "Alright. But she's one of my best friends, I can't hide something like this from her for too long."

"Thanks", I smile, but then remember something, "But what if I never wanna meet her?"

"Then it'll be your loss. You two have so much more in common than either of you can imagine. I could notice it just by spending those few hours with you. Trust me, you won't be disappointed."

"I don't trust anyone", I grin, and he rolls his eyes, smiling at me.

Mom and Karen come back and sit near us. We all talk for an hour or so, and they leave. Mom thanks them for coming, they thank her for dinner, the usual. I go back to my room and realize how much I told Lucas. More then I'd usually tell anyone really. It was actually good to talk to someone about it, but it doesn't seem like me. Me, letting my guard down?

"Dinner wasn't so bad, was it?" my mom's head pops into my room, while she opens the door carefully.

"No mom, it was great, actually", I smile.

"I'm glad you liked it. Good night, Meg."

"Good night, mom."

My mom, saying goodnight? Tree Hill's definitely weird.


	6. Your decision

_Triple update! I've updated all my three stories, so make sure to check them out! And I'd loooove it if you reviewed and let me know your thoughts on all of them! _**

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**Chapter 6 – Your decision**

It's first day of school – well, at least for me. I woke up about 10 minutes ago, wanting to throw the damn buzzer on the river. It's mom's first day too, so she's dropping me off at school on her way to Karen's. Lucas didn't call, or show up, or say anything else since that dinner, and neither did Peyton, so I'm assuming he kept his promise. I change fast, put on some basic jeans and a black t-shirt, while looking for my All-Star tennis. Mom tells me she's gonna be at work when I get out of school, I assure her I can walk home. It's not even that far, and it'll give me a chance to know the neighborhood a little better.

My school is not far from Tree Hill High, but, luckily, most of the students there seem to come from the other direction, and don't pass by my school. I get to school, the teacher introduces me to the class. I find an empty seat near the window and stay quiet, glancing at anyone who looked at me for too long, or pointed, or giggled. I'm just trying to pay attention to class. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be possible. That girl kept looking and laughing with her friends, so I _had_ to say something.

"Hi", I give her the best fake smile I can muster, "I know I'm too beautiful and you can't stop looking, but can't you do that during lunch or in between classes? It's very distracting, and it's starting to disturb my concentration. Thanks."

The girl opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. I turn back to my desk and hear some muffled laughs from people around me. Guess I'm not the only one these girls annoy. Class was almost over, and, when the bell rang, Ms Queen Bee comes to me. I roll my eyes as I look at her.

"Look… I'm sorry. We weren't even laughing at you, really. Well, at least I wasn't… Natalie…", she points some girl that, I can only assume, is Natalie, "she's an idiot, and sometimes the other ones just go along." Ok, did that just happen? It's almost as if she's afraid of me. Or she's too good an actress. And there's always the slight possibility she can be nice. So I look at her, suspiciously.

"Why are you apologizing? Really?"

She smiles. "Cause I think you've got potential, new girl". That's all she says, then winks and walks away. I'm not really used to this. I'm used to… I don't know, being a regular student. Not a total geek, who's ignored by everyone, but certainly not popular also, like, I'm _sure_, those girls are. Everything runs smoothly till it's lunch time. I pick up my tray and go find a place to seat.

"Wow, it's that beautiful girl I can't stop looking at!" I turn around and see Natalie, smirking. Then the girl who talked to me before elbows her. "Shut up, Nat. Gosh, you can be such an ass sometimes!"

"Only sometimes?", one of the other girls asks, and they laugh. "Hey… Megan, right? You wanna sit?" The same girl moves a little, making room for me. I raise my eyebrow.

"Is that some sort of… a Mean Girls kinda thing?" I ask.

"What?" One of them asks, laughing.

"You know, being popular doesn't necessarily mean being a bitch", then she shoots a glance at Natalie, "unlike some people think". She kinda convinces me, so I take a seat.

"I'm Sam", Queen Bee introduces herself, "these are Mel, Sarah, Nikkie, Jas and Emily. And… well, you already know this one", she points at Natalie, who gives them an annoyed look and leaves the table.

"Don't worry about her, she's just PMSing. So… where do you come from?" Mel, the one who asked me to sit with them, asks.

"Charlotte. Crazy mom decided to move all of a sudden", I answer, rolling my eyes.

"Any siblings?"

I stop and think for a while before answering. "Nop, just me."

"Oh, you're so lucky! My sister's a bitch!" Sam says.

We keep talking, each of them telling a terrible experience they had with a brother or sister, and how much of a pain on your butt they can be. That really didn't make me too excited to meet my own… sister. It's still weird to say it. You know what else is weird? The girls are really nice. I end up finding out they're cheerleaders – of course, I tell myself, they _had_ to be – and Sam's their captain. They show me around school, and Sarah even offers me some help if I have trouble catching up on my classes. She's the smart one of the group. So that's a first. Megan Turner, hanging out with the popular crowd. And I have to admit, it feels pretty good. Natalie's the only one who's a real bitch, the other ones are just… well… normal. They're beautiful, popular, have, apparently, perfect lives… and they're nice. Am I the only one who thinks that's a little weird? Either way, school seems cool. Of course there are the geeks, the jocks, the weird ones. And sometimes they don't see eye to eye, but that's normal in every school.

Lunch time is over, and I have next period with Sam and Emily. We talk and we laugh. It's good to have people to laugh with again, since I moved here I haven't met many people yet. Some of the people who saw me bitching at the girls on the first period now look at me like they're disappointed.

"They seem to hate you", I whisper to them pointing to those people.

"Yeah, some people do", Emily shrugs, "It's not like we ever did anything to any of them. Well, we don't hang out with them either, but that's no reason to hate somebody, is it?" Well, they didn't seem to mind. So I had a pretty good first week in school. I slowly got to know more people, and they were curious to know about me. I was careful not to let anything important slip, they didn't have to know anything about my family or my problems.

My mom's loving her job. Weird thing is, she barely mentions Peyton's name. She always refers to her as "the young girl", or "that blonde one". I can only assume she recognized her last name from Elizabeth's letter. But then again, how can she be sure it's really her? Only thing she knows is her last name. Well, I wasn't gonna ask. And maybe it's even a good thing. If they don't talk, the chances Peyton finds out something out will diminish, and I'm certainly not gonna complain.

About a week later, I'm heading for lunch when Sam's phone rings. She moves away as we chat, while waiting for her. When she comes back, she seems nervous. The girls ask if everything is alright, she shakes her head. "My sister." It's all she says, then Jas and Mel, who seem to be the ones who are closer to her, lead her outside. I see them sitting on a bench. Not long after it, Sam starts to cry, and Mel hugs her.

"Her sister's pregnant", Sarah gets closer to me and explains it, careful not to let anyone else hear it, "she just finished high school, and their parents are _not_ happy about it. So they're always yelling, and they've been having these huge fights. Sam's kind of in the middle of it all."

"But I thought her sister was a bitch! That's what she said before…"

Sarah smiles. "We do that sometimes. We say these thing, but truth is, I couldn't possibly live without my annoying little brother, Em loves her twin baby sisters. And Sam… well, she's really close to her sister, Lara. They're like best friends, you know?"

But thing is, I _don't_ know! I don't have the smallest idea. How can I? I'm an only child. Mel, Jas and Sam come back after a while. The other girls ask how she's doing. It turns out Lara had another huge fight with her parents, and she started feeling a lot of pain, so she was now at the hospital. They wanted her to have an abortion. Sam already loved her little niece or nephew, and Lara already loved her little baby, so she wouldn't even consider it. Not abortion, not adoption. She knew what she wanted, and she wanted her baby. One thing I can say is that these girls here, they definitely got each other's back. They spent the rest of the classes talking nonsense and trying to cheer Sam up. She wanted to go to the hospital see her sister, but her parents wouldn't let her leave school early, so she didn't have a choice. At the end of the classes, I was crossing the street to make my way home – a way that was already becoming pretty familiar – when I hear Sam calling. She comes and stops in front of me. "Hey… my parents aren't picking me up today… you know, with everything that's happened, so I thought, maybe… we could walk together?"

"Sure", I say, walking by her side. I know she has to talk about it, and she's been a good friend these last weeks, can't hurt to listen. She talks about her sister, a lot. I don't get how she can be telling me all of that, when we've known each other for like two weeks. She's not afraid to cry, to be vulnerable, and I actually admire that in her. Then she starts telling me stories about her and Lara growing up, and we have some laughs. Sounds really fun having someone who knows you this well after all. We're walking for about 10 minutes, when I see Lucas coming in my direction. Sam sees him and elbows me.

"Oh my god, don't look now, but he's looking at us! _Lucas Scott_ is looking at us!"

I'm not half as excited as she is, he's definitely coming in my direction. Then he finally stops in front of me. I can swear Sam's about to pass out.

"Hey", he says, a little uncomfortable, with his hands on his pockets. He seems a little nervous, too. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Lucas, I told you…"

"I know! I know… but it's really important. It's about Peyton."

I'm mumbling incoherent words when Sam starts fake coughing.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Lucas, that's Sam."

"Hey Sam… I think I know from somewhere. You cheer for the junior league, don't you?", he squints his eyes, and she can only nod, amazed, "I go to their games sometimes."

"Actually, I'm the captain", she says, proudly, making him smile. But then he turns serious again. Gee, the guy can't relax for three minutes. "So… can I borrow your friend for a while? Won't take long, I promise."

I look at Sam, who's nodding, and ask her to wait a minute. Then Lucas and I walk a few steps ahead. "Lucas, you didn't tell her, did you? It's not that I don't believe you or that I think she's a bad person or anything, but you know it's…"

"She was attacked", he blurts it out.

"Attacked… a-a-attacked?", I say, louder, and getting nervous, "What the hell do you mean by that? How did it… and what… and… WHAT?"

"Yesterday… she got back from this press conference thing we had in school, and there was… this guy. I guess he'd been stalking her for a while, he even had… he had pictures of her", he flinches at his own words. I guess my expression isn't much better than his.

"Why are you telling me this?" I take a defensive tone all of a sudden.

"Because she's your sister", he sees the look on my face, "Look, I'm sorry. It's just that… I can't get her to talk to me, to open up, and I don't want her to be alone."

"What makes you think she'd talk to me? You said it yourself, we're a lot alike, then trust me on this: last thing she'll want right now is a stranger she's never seen before in her life, ok?" We look at each other for a while, till he raises both hands in defeat.

"It's your decision, I just thought you should know. I'll see you around, Megan", he starts to walk away.

"Lucas, wait!" I see myself going in his direction, "This guy… he didn't… he didn't… do anything, did he?"

"He tried, and he got close. But no. She has bruises and cuts, but that's it, at least physically", he says it, and I nod my head, looking at nowhere specific.

"Lucas… take care of her, please?"

"I'm trying, I really am. I just hope it's gonna be enough", he waves, and finally leaves. I slowly walk back to Sam.

"You bitch!" She smiles and playfully punches me, "You never told me you were friends with Lucas Scott! Next thing you'll say Brooke Davis is your sister or something! And did you see? He's actually seen me cheering. I told you, you should really stop with this 'I don't care about cheerleading thing' attitude you've got going on and just… Meg, you're ok?" I guess she finally notices I don't look too happy at this moment. I shake my head and she immediately turns serious. "What's going on?"

"You know Peyton Sawyer?" I say, almost in a trance.

"Well, yeah! Who doesn't? She's a little too serious and intense for a cheerleader, but still…", she shrugs, "But what you _Lucas_ have tell _you_ about _Peyton_? It doesn't make sense. Can you tell I'm confused here?"

"He said she was attacked yesterday, in her house."

"Oh… I thought I'd heard something about it at school today. Nikkie's friend's sister has classes with Peyton and heard it, then word just spread. But I still don't understand where you fit into this story."

"Honestly, Sam, I'm still trying to figure it out myself."

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_So, what did you guys think? I just feel like I have to explain some things... First of all, I wanted the popular pretty girls to be nice for once, cause they always appear as bitches who don't give a damn about anyone, so I guess I just felt like changing that, and thought it'd be interesting if Megan had friends who aren't really people she'd usually hang out with. I hope you like the idea too. And Peyton being attacked... I felt like the story needed that, so that Megan would have a strong motivation to actually look for Peyton. So in this story, the same thing with fake Derek happened, as in the show, only, obviously, he never pretended to be her brother, but he did stalk her, so the attack, I imagine it the same way as it happened on the show. Please let me know what you think! Thank you for reading, and please review. Oh, and don't worry, Megan and Peyton will meet soon, in like 2 chapters from now! Just be a little patient, I promise to update fast until they meet, so you guys will be happy, yay!_


	7. Join the club

_So... the parts in italic are lines from Peyton's podcasts. I hope it didn't get too confusing, I was actually listening to the podcasts on my iPod and writing as if Megan was listening to them, and wondering what she'd think and comment about them!_**

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**Chapter 7 – Join the club**

I can't say Sam made it easy for me to hide what was really going on. I was almost home already, and she wouldn't stop talking.

"Samantha, stop it! Just… stop, ok? I've got a lot going on right now, and I have to make some decisions I really didn't want to make, yet", I snapped. She looks kinda hurt, so I just sigh and look at her. "Sorry… I know you have a lot of stuff to worry about, too…"

"Yeah… and I told you all about it."

"I never asked you to."

"I know that. But I took a chance and trusted you with it."

"I don't do trust", I say, simply. She looks a little saddened.

"Then I guess you don't do friendship, either", she sighs and waves, "I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

I hadn't even noticed I was standing in front of my house already. So I get in, grab something to eat and call my mom to let her know I got home. I'm still adjusting to stuff like that. I'm a little scared to admit to myself that she's really changing, like I'm afraid to say it out loud and then everything will go back to the way it was. So I try not to think of it, and just focus on being happy cause it's happening. I dial my mom's number, and Karen answers. She sometimes does that, when my mom's too busy.

"Hey Karen! Just calling to say I'm home."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll let Susan know. Oh, hold on a sec, she's here."

"Meg? Hey, honey. Everything go well at school today?"

"Yeah, yeah, mom, school was great", I lie through my teeth. Well, kinda. School was actually not so bad. Except the whole thing with Sam and her sister…

"Great! Sweetie, I'm pretty busy today, that girl didn't show up, so I had a lot of stuff to take care of, so I don't think I'll be home till later at night… What? Wait a minute, Meg", I hear her chit chatting with Karen, but can't figure out what they're talking about, "Meg, Karen just invited us to have dinner with her and Lucas today, you wanna come? That way you could see the café, you've been avoiding this place like the plague."

I like Karen, and Lucas. But my mom not being able to come home till later actually worked pretty well for me. I needed some time.

"You know what, mom? Why don't you stay for dinner? I'll just eat whatever we have here, I'm not really hungry."

"You're sure everything's ok? I can go home and we can order something."

"Thanks… but I'm really ok, don't worry."

"Alright then, call me if you need anything, alright?"

"I will. Bye, mom."

I hang up and go to my computer, turn my iTunes on and start downloading all of Peyton's podcasts. I have to make a decision, and, for that, I need all the information I can get.

_Have you ever had something that you knew it was true, and you never wondered about and… it just is? And all of a sudden it turns out to be a lie. _Well, something like thinking I was an only child? Yup… I've had something like that. Ha! She just mentioned Ellie, just now. So… Peyton's mom died when she was 8, and then, last year, Ellie shows up? That's pretty screwed up, if you ask me! And she just said it… _Pretty f'd up, huh?_ I guess we are a lot alike after all. _My room is the only place on the planet where I can actually feel safe._ Yup, just like me. A lot of what she's saying about Ellie, it's exactly how I feel about meeting her. Kinda scary, huh? And by the way, her best friend, Brooke, must be hilarious! And right now she's talking about lyric people and music people. I'm definitely under the first category. And, surprise, surprise, so is she. Apparently Brooke's not, though! _Sometimes things find you when you need them to find you._ Like a sister finding you, maybe? It's like I could be saying all of this. And that was just the first podcast! Right now she's talking about disco and, honestly, I'm just cracking up, like I don't even have a problem that has to be figured out at this moment. She seems like an older version of me. Sad music, rainy days… Oh, I miss a rainy day! Oh my god, she just mentioned Lucas. It's so weird that I actually know him. And there she is, talking about memories with him, it's like I already know her. But it's like she said it herself, it's hard to open up, and find the courage to trust someone new. _I meet a new person, it's like I look at them sideways, like… what's their angle? What do they want? How are they gonna end up screwing me over?_

She talks a lot about Brooke, how they've known each other since they were kids, and how they're each other's rock. And now she's talking about when her mom died, when she was 8. Brooke was there, they were best friends already. And now, as I listen to all of that, I just wanna know where she is. Lucas said Peyton was alone, he didn't mention anything about a best friend. I actually thought _he_ was her best friend!

She's talking about Ellie now. I'm already listening to her 11th podcast, non stop. She actually got me crying at that one. And she's talking about all the stuff she wanted to ask Ellie about. _I wanted to know if she was in love with my dad._ I know I could answer a lot of those questions for her.

Now she's interviewing this Haley girl, who's _so_ funny, by the way. They mentioned Tric. I feel strangely proud, now that my mom works there and all. And the next one's about the school shooting, and how she got shot on the leg, and how… LUCAS SAVED HER? It's amazing how much you can find out from listening to these things. The last podcast, the one I heard back home, she recorded it a long time after this one I'm listening to right now. She used to record one every week, basically, and she hasn't, for a long time. Maybe she didn't need them anymore. Maybe she got tired. Or maybe things got really bad, and she gave up on them.

Her house is not that far from mine, or so Lucas said, and it's not even dark yet. I could go there right now. That is, if I had the slightest idea where her house is. I don't wanna call Lucas, he's there with my mom, and I don't want her to know anything. Plus, I'm not even sure I'll have the guts to talk to Peyton, and if that happens, I don't want him around telling me I have to talk to her. I'll just call Sam, see if she knows anything.

"Hello?" I can hear her tired voice over the phone.

"Hey, it's me", I'm guessing my voice reflects exactly how nervous I am. So after a while I talk again, "I'm sorry about before."

"It's ok… I'm sorry too, I should've respected you, you know… you don't wanna talk about it."

"How's your sister?"

"Actually, can we talk about it tomorrow? I don't really feel like… you know"

"Yeah, sure. But… we're good, right?"

"We're good."

"Great, cause I really need your help with something!"

"I knew there was a reason you were being so nice", I can almost see the smirk on her face. We both laugh. "What's up, Meg?"

"I really really need to talk to Peyton Sawyer. You happen to know where she lives?"

"Peyton Sawyer again, huh? You're friends with her or something?"

"Not really", I bite my lower lip, hoping she won't have anymore questions. It's almost like she read my mind.

"Sorry… I have no idea where she lives", I sigh as I hear her saying it. "But…"

"But what?"

"Right after we said goodbye I saw Brooke Davis walking by. She must live nearby. She has to know where Peyton lives."

"Brooke? As in her best friend?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"I think… I may have seen her walking by my house a while ago. What does she look like?" I think of the two girls who talked to me right after I moved. Well, they looked like they were Peyton's age, and they do live nearby.

"Dark hair, kinda short, with dimples on her cheeks…"

"Yeah, that's definitely her. Thanks, Sam, you just helped me out a lot."

"Sure, no problem. And whatever it is that's going on… good luck."

"Thanks. Hope things get better with you too."

"Thanks Meg. We'll talk tomorrow then. Bye."

"Bye."

So… Brooke Davis is the girl who was with the red haired one. And she happens to be Peyton's best friend? Freaky! I know I gotta go talk to her. But how weird is that? I'll just knock on her door and ask for Peyton's address? Thing is, I didn't stop worrying, not even for a second, since Lucas told me what happened. Now I know, that from the first time I'd found out about her, I'd already made my decision. I just wasn't ready to admit it. I have to go, and I have to go today.

So now I'm walking down the street, Brooke's house getting closer and closer, and I don't even know what I'm gonna say. And here I am, in front of the door. It takes me a few minutes to ring the bell, and the door is immediately opened by red haired girl. I should really find out her name, to stop calling her 'red haired girl' in my mind. She looks a little confused when she sees me there. Then she smiles and talks to me like I'm 5.

"Hey, little girl? You're lost?"

"No, I'm actually looking for Brooke Davis", I talk to her the exact same way she talked to me, imitating her voice. She does _not_ look happy about it, but I keep smiling sweetly. She turns around.

"Brooooooooooooooooooke! The little brat who just moved here is looking for you!"

"Little brat?" Who the hell does she think she is? "Oh, you're lucky I really need to do something else right now, otherwise I'd…"

"What? Kick my ass?" she laughs, "Well, with your size, you can surely kiss it."

I'm about to answer to that, when I see someone else coming.

"Rachel? What's going on?"

HA! Bitchy red haired girl's name's Rachel. Always good to know. Rachel looks at me and smiles. "Brooke's here. Means I can stop baby sitting you know, right? I'll see you around", then she leaves.

"Ok, what the hell is going on around here? And you… aren't you the girl I talked to a couple of weeks ago?"

"Yeah, that was me. Look, I know it's weird, but… you're friends with Peyton Sawyer, right?"

"No." What? How many dark haired, short, dimpled Brooke Davis's are there in this town? "At least not anymore…" Ok, that makes more sense. Makes all the sense in the world, actually, explains why Lucas didn't mention her. But it's also really awkward, cause that look on her face… she looks hurt. She doesn't want to show it, but I know it too well. I hide the same look all the time. For a moment I think maybe Peyton's not as nice as she seems. If this girl was best friends with her since they were kids and she has this look in her eyes when her name's mentioned, she must've hurt Brooke pretty bad. "I'm sorry, what's your name again?" she suddenly asks.

"Megan."

"Ok, Megan, how did you know I was friends with her on the first place?"

"I heard it in one of her podcasts."

"What? Did she talk about me on her podcasts?" she seems surprised.

"Are you kidding? 'I'm worried about Brooke, and I can't come up with anything to make her feel better', 'I'm Brooke's go-to girl, and she's mine, since we were little kids', 'When my mom died, no matter how much I tried to hide and push everyone away, Brooke would always be there'." I start quoting some stuff I remember her saying, and I notice her eyes start to tear up. "I could go on and on."

"I had no idea…", she says, almost in a whisper. And then she quickly pulls herself together and shoots me a weird glare, "You're not another crazy stalker person, are you? Cause one was bad enough!"

"So you've heard about it…"

"Of course I did… Haley told me! Not that you'd know who Haley is, but then again, if you knew who I was and who Peyton was…"

"Ok, you do know you're babbling, right?" I laugh a little, and I'm actually relieved when she gives me a small smile back.

"God, you really are like her."

"Yeah, so people keep saying", I mumble.

"What? Who else?"

"Lucas…"

"Whoa! Let's rewind the tape and go through it again, shall we? You know Lucas? You got here like 2 weeks ago, didn't you? And you're friends with Lucas? And Peyton?"

"I don't even know Peyton."

"But you came here asking about her…"

"Yeah, it's… complicated. Thing is, Lucas told me today about what happened last night, and I've been fighting with myself since then, wondering whether not I should go there and check on her. And even if I did, who can guarantee she'll even want to see me?"

"Yeah, join the club", she laughs bitterly and rolls her eyes. "But let me ask you again, cause I still don't get it. You just moved here. You don't know Peyton, but you listen to her podcasts, and, for some reason, Lucas thought you should know about what happened. Why?"

"I don't wanna talk about it, ok? I just came to see if you could tell me where her house is."

"I'm sorry, but if you think I'm just gonna give you her address like that, specially after what happened… no way! Not until I know exactly who you are."

"This is crazy! I'm 13 years old! I'm not exactly a threat to anyone. Except to this Rachel person if she keeps getting on my nerves."

She laughs, and for a second it seems she's laughing at me, till she says, "Rachel _can_ be a bitch… But hey, I wouldn't care if you were a 4 year old toddler! You don't tell me anything, I won't tell you, either", she crosses her arms, and I can see she really means it.

"You know what? Forget it!" I walk away, but before I reach the sidewalk I stop and turn around. "Urgh, ok! It's just that… it's a big thing, and Lucas is the only one who knows."

"You're worried I'll tell Peyton? We're not even talking to each other anymore, so you definitely don't have to worry about that. You wanna sit?" she asks, while sitting on one of the steps of the stairway.

I reluctantly sit beside her, thinking of how to tell her. "Alright, here's the thing. My dad and my mom, they were really young when they got married. He cheated on her right after the wedding. He had an affair with this 18 year old girl…"

"Look, I'm sorry about it, it's all very moving, but I don't see how your family history has anything to do with Peyton's history."

"That's the thing… they're kind of the same. The girl my dad had an affair with, 18 years ago… her name was Elizabeth Harp."

"What are you talking about? Who the hell is Elizabeth Har… Oh…" she gasps, and her mouth is open for a long time before another sound comes out of it. "Ellie?"

I nod.

"So… your father and Ellie… and then she had Peyton. So your father is her father, which would make you…"

"Yeah…" I nod and don't really say it, there's no need to. "She found out about me a week before I moved here. She called me, I hung up on her. I'd just found out about her, too, a couple of weeks before that."

"What about Lucas? How did you meet him?"

"My dad left, right after my mom found out about Peyton. My mom went to high school with Karen. She offered my mother a job, after she'd lost hers back in Charlotte. When he met me, my mom introduced me, said my full name, and he knew it was me. He said he was the one who convinced Peyton to call me. He promised not to tell her anything for now, but with the attack… he thought I should know."

"Why are you going now?" she doesn't stop asking questions. Surprisingly, I don't mind answering them.

"Lucas said she won't talk to him about it… and apparently there's no one else. He has this insane notion I can help somehow. I didn't want to meet her… but… would it be too weird if I said I care about her, even if I haven't even met her?"

"No… makes perfect sense to me", she smiles truthfully. I wanna ask. I really wanna ask her what happened, what made them stop talking to each other, and most of all, I wanna ask her to come with me, cause she surely would know the right thing to say to help Peyton. She obviously still worries about her, and it seems she's just dying to go there and check on her. But she won't.

"Come on", she gently taps my knees, "I'll drive you there."

* * *

_Sooo did you like it? On the last chapter I got some reviews telling they wanted Megan to meet the other characters too. I'd actually written this one already, and she's gonna meet more of them on the upcoming chapters. Next chapters Megan and Peyton finally meet. And on the one after that, they'll finally have a decent conversation, I promise you that! I just like the whole suspense and excitement! LOL! Anyway, please review!_


	8. I guess I'm your sister

**Chapter 8 – I guess I'm your sister**

Brooke goes inside to pick up her purse, and we go to her car. We don't say much on the short ride. We suddenly stop, way too soon in my opinion. Peyton's house is a good one. There's a light on, on the second floor.

"It's her room", Brooke says, "It's like her little world, you know? She feels safe, there. Well, at least she used to feel, before…" she doesn't finish her sentence, just keeps looking at the window.

I don't say anything either, way too nervous to talk. Should I be here? Wouldn't it be better if we met when things are a little better for her?

"Kinda scary, huh?" Brooke looks at me, understandingly. "It's ok if you don't wanna go now, I can take you back home."

"No, I… I wanna go. I just… what should I say?"

"Just make sure she knows how strong she is. She'll get through it, but she needs someone there to remind her of that strength."

"So I take it you're not coming…" I say it with a small voice.

She gives me a sad smile. "I'm sorry, I can't."

I nod my head and finally open the car's door and get out. Brooke winks at me, reassuringly. "You'll know what to do, kid. I'm sure you'll both be fine."

"Thanks… and thanks for the ride."

She says "no problem", waves and drives away. I gulp, and slowly walk towards the house. After what seems like days, I finally gather up enough courage to ring the bell. There's no answer. I ring once again, reach for the door knob, but the door is locked. Makes sense, after what happened. I ring once more, but honestly, I'm almost relieved she's not answering. It's like… my work is done, I did all I could. Just as I'm about to leave, the door opens, to reveal the tall, blonde girl I've heard so much about. She has a couple of cuts on her face, she's wearing sweats and slippers. And as soon as I look at her, I see what everyone else's been talking about. Anyone walking on the street could probably look at us and tell we're sisters. My hair is long and straight, hers is shorter than mine, and a little wavy. But it's the same color. Her eyes are green-ish, mine are dark blue. But it's the same expression, the same hidden secrets. I could see it all in her eyes. We look at each other for a long time, not saying anything. Until she shakes her head and closes her eyes for a second, before looking at me again.

"Can I help you with something?" she asks, her voice is weak, and she still looks at me like, at some level, she already knows who I am.

"I'm Megan", I say, carefully, "I guess I'm your sister", I try to give her a small smile, but I'm too nervous for that, so my expression is probably a little freaky.

Her jaw drops, in shock. And a few moments later her expression changes. "Look… if this is some kind of joke…" she starts to say something, but then she looks right into my eyes and stops. She knows I'm not lying, but she's still looking for a way, for an excuse, so she doesn't have to deal with this right now.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come. This was a mistake…"

"Why _did_ you come?" she asks, before I can even turn my back.

"I guess… I should've come before, but I didn't want to… I was scared to death"

"I figured, and I understand. But what made you change your mind?"

She's being careful, she's being distant. Can't say I didn't expect that.

"Ok, there's something you need to know. Susanna, the woman who's working with you at Tric… she's my mom. I met Karen and Lucas…"

"_What?_" she suddenly seems not so happy. I knew she wouldn't like it that Lucas didn't tell her about me, but I didn't want the first conversation we had to be based on a lie. I know how much she's had of lies already. "If Lucas met you, he knew who you were, and he didn't even tell me…"

"Please, don't blame him. I begged him not to tell you anything, I wasn't ready…"

"So you asked him to lie to me? God, for a moment I thought you were different. You two are unbelievable!" She's about to close the door on my face, but I stop her.

"I'm sorry, ok? I'm sorry I asked him to lie to you. If you wanna blame someone, then blame me. He was just trying to help", I'm on the verge of tears now. I had _no_ idea things would go this way.

"You _should_ be sorry. You and Lucas", she suddenly says, her voice strong and cold, "because it _is_ your fault. It's all your fault", she slams the door shut, and I hear her crying. Damn it, what was that about? I know it wasn't right to lie like that, but still, it's not like it was this huge betrayal or anything. I knock softly on the door again.

"Peyton? Can we please talk?"

"Get away from my house. And don't bother coming back." There's so much anger in her words. And they hurt much more than I'd like to admit. I wipe my tears and slowly walk away. I soon start to run, back to my house, to my room. I run past Brooke and Rachel's house.

"Hey! Neighbor girl!" I hear Brooke calling, but I don't stop. Not until I'm in my room, door locked, music blasting through my stereo.

Great way to get to know my big sister, huh? I just wanted to understand the reason she got _this_ angry. But that's not really the worst thing. Worst thing is that she's there, all alone, breaking down in tears. She doesn't want to see me, she most probably won't want to see Lucas too, Brooke won't go see her. And Lucas will probably be mad at me for what I said. So I do the only thing I can when I'm like this. I write.

_Look around  
__Aren't you tired of the lies?  
__Tired of fighting  
__And saying goodbye?_

_Look around  
__Do you like what you see?  
__Do you feel what happens  
__Deep inside of me?  
__Cause I don't_

_I see tears  
__Do you see them too?  
__I feel loneliness  
__And I know  
__You feel it too  
__I know it hurts  
__Inside of you_

_Can you change me?  
__Can you save me?  
__Can't you see  
__How I wanted it all  
__To be_

I read what I just wrote. And I know the "you" I kept referring to is Peyton. And that scares the hell out of me, cause I guess I saw in her a potential friend. Not a friend like the ones I usually have in school. A real one. But now I probably ruined any chance of having her talking to me. Ironic, huh? When she called me, I hung up on her, and now that I looked for her, she's the one who doesn't want me around. Damn it, that girl has too many issues; even more than me, I'd say. I tried, I was honest, and she went crazy. So maybe it's not really my fault. Yeah, I like that idea.

I hear my mom's car, followed by the usual "Meg, I'm home". Should I tell her I know about Peyton? I probably won't see her again, so it's not worth it, is it? It'd get my mom upset over nothing. I climb down the stairs to see her.

"Hey mom! How was dinner?"

"Really good! Karen's cooking… amazing! Luckily, your great mom here was able to save you some of it", she hands me a box with some food that smells delicious. I run to the kitchen, put it on a plate and heat it. With everything that's happened, I actually forgot to eat. I _never_ forget to eat. All it takes is that smell to remind me of how hungry I am. I sit by the table, my mom joins me.

"Oh my god, mom, this is really amazing. Almost as good as yours", I laugh sarcastically, probably with some food stuck in between my teeth.

"Very funny! I'd be mad at you for making fun of my cooking, but it _is_ much better than mine, so you're forgiven", she smiles.

I hadn't seen my mom smiling like that in so long. A true, happy smile. I guess my dad leaving was actually a good thing for her. She just sits there, while I eat. It should be uncomfortable to me, but it's not. Feels nice.

"Mom… I have to tell you something", I say, even before I think. What? My brain chose _this_ moment to talk to my mom about Peyton?

"What is it, honey? Everything alright?"

"It's about dad… and why he left."

"You know we were fighting a lot…"

"About his daughter", I interrupt. God, my mouth is out of control today, I guess it's not even connected to my brain anymore. What's with me deciding to spill everything to everyone? Is it truth day or something? Mom's quiet. She looks at me and nods.

"You already knew about her, huh?"

"Yeah, when you and dad fought about it, right after you found out… it was hard not to hear all the yelling."

"I figured you should probably know, but I just… don't really know how to talk to you about her."

"It's ok, just… let me talk, then", she nods as I go on, carefully. Really carefully. "She called me, right after you told me we were moving. I knew she lived here, and I didn't want anything to do with her… that's why I was so mad about the whole moving thing."

"It's Peyton, isn't it?", mom interrupts me this time. It's like she was 99 percent sure, she just needed a confirmation. A confirmation I give her, silently, by nodding. She doesn't seem upset. "You know, Meg… when Karen offered me the job here, I said no. It took me two seconds to answer, and the answer was no. Because I knew, eventually, I'd meet her. But then I thought of you. She's family, at least to you she is. And maybe it'd be good if you two met."

"What? Really? And… you're ok with all this?"

"Look, what your father did, it wasn't right, it wasn't fair to you, or to me. And I just wanted to forget this girl even existed. But you know what? This was unfair on us, but also on her. He never even cared to see if she was ok, and with a good family. And when I met her at Tric… I could see so much of Elizabeth in her, and it hurt. But after a while I realized… there's also so much of her in you. She's a good person, she's dedicated, she's responsible… and as much as I'd love to blame her for what her father… well, your father too, did, how could I? She doesn't even know it. Her dad, your dad, whatever, he's the one who made mistakes, not her, and, god, I hate to admit it… not even Elizabeth."

You know what I love about my mom, right here, at this moment? She's being completely honest with me. She's not talking to me like I'm a stupid little kid who can't understand her problems, or our family's problems. And I'm amazed by everything she says. I thought she hated Peyton, and that the idea of me meeting her, I thought it was like her worst nightmare. But she knew from the start I'd end up meeting Peyton in Tree Hill. And it wasn't easy for her, coming back, but she did it anyway. She doesn't even blame Elizabeth now.

"Mom? Do you know about the reason she didn't show up today at Tric?"

"Yeah", she sighs heavily, "Lucas and Karen mentioned it at dinner. I was kinda worried about her."

"Me too. So I… I kinda went to see her."

"You did? Wow… that was really brave of you. Did you two talk? Does she know who you are?'

I nod. "And she knows you're my mom, too", I bite my lower lip, "Sorry, I thought it was a good idea to tell her everything. Lucas recognized my name when you introduced me, he knew who I was but I asked him not to say anything…"

So I tell her the whole thing. The phone call and the podcast. Then Lucas, the other podcasts, Brooke, and, finally, the not-so-pleasant conversation with Peyton. It doesn't really go naturally, telling my mom about these things, but I manage to say pretty much everything.

"Honey, I wish we'd talked earlier, it must've been hard for you… And, about Peyton, just give her some time, ok?"

"Some time? Mom, she told me not to bother going back there."

"Of course she said that. She's just been through something terrible, she's defensive, she's scared. Don't worry about it", she softly puts her hand on my face, wiping one single stubborn tear that falls from my eye. "Just remember… she's just as scared as you. She'll come around. And if she doesn't, then we'll go talk to her again."

"We?"

"You think I'd let my little girl face it all alone?", she smiles.

I can only hug her, so tight she can barely breathe. But she doesn't complain.

"I love you, mom."

"I love you too, my girl. I know I don't always have the best way of showing it, but I love you so much."

That was the first time I ever said that to my mom. It was also the first time I actually believed her when she said it to me. I know she meant it this time, every word. And for a while she gets me believing things really will be fine after all.

* * *

_So they finally met! And I know you probably wanna kill me right now, cause they barely talked, but they'll talk more on the next chapter, promise! I'm really sorry it took so long for me to update, things are just crazy with college and everything. I hope you're still reading and that you'll keep reviewing! Oh, and there's a reason Peyton overreacted like that, it'll be explained later on. Probably 2 or 3 chapters from now. Reviews are loved!_

_Poem that Megan writes... by me again! Actually, it's parts of something I wrote. Oh, and I'm probably gonna post the last chapter for That I Would Be Good this week. So yay! Review that too! Please?_


	9. I trust you

_Sorry it took me long to update, I was in this huge writer's block for a week, but I guess it's finally gone now! As always, thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! Means a lot! So here's the next chapter, I hope you like it!_**

* * *

**

**Chapter 10 – I trust you**

It's Saturday, finally. It seemed like this week was never gonna end. Sam's sister got out of the hospital yesterday, I called Sam to see how things were doing, she said their parents hadn't changed their minds about anything. And to think I complained so much about my own parents. Well, I was right about my dad, as far as I'm concerned, but my mom's getting me to believe people can change, for real. Sam and Lara's parents are definitely worse than mine. At least the baby's still ok. We spend the morning at the mall, along with Emily, Nikkie, and, god, even Natalie. Natalie's actually not that bad, once you learn how to handle her bad moods. She's even getting used to the idea that I'm around more often now. We're all sitting at the food court, when I see Brooke and Rachel. They soon see me, too. Rachel goes inside some store, and Brooke comes near our table. I get up and go talk to her before the girls notice she's coming.

"Hey", she says, smiling, "So can we talk now? You're not gonna run again?"

"Sorry. I just wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone that day"

"So… things didn't go so well with her?"

I open my mouth to answer, when we hear the girls on my table whispering.

"She knows Brooke Davis?", Emily asks Sam.

Brooke and I start listening to what they're saying.

"Not just that, she's friends with Lucas Scott, and knows Peyton Sawyer, too!" We hear Sam telling the others, while they open their mouths in surprise. Brooke laughs silently so they won't know we're listening.

"Didn't she _just_ move here?" Natalie asks.

"Come on", Brooke says, pointing her head to the girls, "Let's humor them"

Before I can ask her what she means by that, she drags me back to the table.

"Girls, hey! Can I just say how great you were on last week's game?", she suddenly says, and the girls all smile, very proud of themselves.

"I didn't think you even went to our games."

"You're kidding, right? I'm graduating this year, or at least I hope to, I have to make sure the future Ravens cheerleaders are gonna kick the Bear Creek's ass on the upcoming Sparkle Classic competitions"

"Oh, you bet! I already hate that Claire Young girl, thank goodness she won't be there anymore, cause I'd…"

"Sam! You're turning into Crazy Captain again!", Nikkie says, making everyone laugh.

"Awwww, you're such a little me already", Brooke winks at Sam, all proud.

Everyone laughs except for Natalie, who rolls her eyes. Brooke gives her a look and mumbles, "And you would be the Rachel of the group, I see"

"What is that supposed to mean?", Natalie raises her eyebrow.

"Never mind. Come on, kid, gotta talk", she grabs my hand and takes me a little far from them, but not before turning to the girls and giving them two thumbs up. "Keep up the good work"

"So…", she turns back to me, "What happened?"

"I told her Lucas already knew about me, and that I'd asked him not to say anything"

"So?"

"So… she freaked out. Kept saying it was all my fault, which, by the way, I have no idea what it meant. And then she told me not to go back there anymore."

"Wow!" she's silent for a while, then keeps talking, "That doesn't sound like her"

"Really? Cause for all I know, she seemed like the exact kind of person who'd freak out when someone lies to her"

"Yeah, she would. But not for something like that, and certainly with you. Trust me, Megan, there's more to it than what she's saying"

"You really think so?"

"No, I don't _think_ so, I _know_ so", from that look in her face, yeah, she's pretty sure of what she's saying.

"Brooke! You have no idea what I…", Rachel comes in our direction, and half her enthusiasm goes out of the window when she sees me. "Oh, you're still here"

"Okay, don't even start, you two. Come on, show me what you found in there", Brooke takes Rachel back inside the store, but not before saying goodbye. "I'll talk to you later, ok? But don't worry too much."

I smile and walk back to where my friends are.

"You're my idol, Meg, you know that?" Emily says, and I can't help but laugh.

We have lunch there and I come back home. Mom made plans to go somewhere with Karen, they're getting along really well. I haven't talked to Lucas since I met Peyton. So I decide to go to the Rivercourt, look for him. I get there, but there's no one, except for this short guy sitting on the benches, a basketball on his side. I sit, too, kinda far from him, just to think about stuff.

"Hey", he suddenly starts talking to me. "I don't think I've ever seen you here before"

"No, you probably haven't", I turn to him, "I moved here not so long ago"

"Well, welcome then. I'm Mouth", he reaches his hand and I shake it.

"Megan", I introduce myself. Mouth? People call him Mouth? I'm not even gonna ask!

"So, you like basketball?"

"I guess… I don't really play that much. You?"

"I'm an announcer, for the Ravens games, but I don't really play. Too short", he laughs.

I smile back, and see the basketball. Well, as long as I'm here, I could try a few shots, just to pass the time.

"This ball… is it yours?", I ask Mouth guy.

"It's the guys', I guess. Sometimes they leave it here. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you wanted to play for a while." He answers me, then throws the ball in my direction. "Let's see what you've got"

"Trust me, it's nothing special". I start throwing the ball around, making a couple of three pointers, but missing a lot. Free throws are _so_ much easier.

"Wow! The girl's actually got some game!" Lucas' voice comes from behind me. I quickly turn around and blush, embarrassed that he actually saw me playing. And there's this really cute guy with him, with really amazing blue eyes, "This is my brother, Nathan. Nate, this is Megan, she's Susan's daughter."

"Hey Megan. Haley talks about your mom sometimes. Says she's pretty cool." So… that's Nathan, who's married to Haley. Little by little, all those names I heard on Peyton's podcasts suddenly have a face, too.

"Yeah, I guess Tree Hill's done wonders for my mom", I smile, and turn my attention to the blond Scott. "Lucas… I was actually looking for you when I came here. Can we talk?"

"Sure", we take some distance from the others, then he turns to me, "I'm sorry. About how things went with Peyton"

"So she told you?"

"Yeah, right before she kicked me out and yelled at me", he half smiles.

"I'm so sorry I told her. I just wanted to be honest, and I didn't know she would be this angry. But I kept saying it wasn't your fault, I didn't want her to be mad at you, too"

"I know you didn't. It's ok, really", then he sighs, "I just worry about her. She's alone there, and she's not very good at asking for help"

"I've kept my distance since then, you know? To give her some space. But it's been three days, Lucas."

"It's not easy for me, either. But she'll come around when she's ready, I promise."

"You can't promise me that. You just said she's not good at asking for help"

"But she's pretty good at being pissed off, so I wouldn't go there now if I were you"

We smile at each other, till Nathan yells. "Hey! You're gonna leave me here throwing those three pointers? It gets boring after you make it 23 times in a roll, you know?" He has this cute smirk on his face.

Lucas laughs and looks at me. "So? What do you say?"

"What? Play with you guys? I don't think so. I gotta do some stuff. See you later?"

The guys nod, and start playing. Right! They're crazy if they think I'll ever play basketball with them. I'd probably be there only as a comic relief. I walk for a while, thinking of what Brooke said. _There's more to it than what she's saying._ What could Peyton be hiding, why did she get so angry? Before I know it, I'm in front of Peyton's house. I just stand there for a while, until I notice she's sitting on the porch.

"Sorry… I'm just gonna go", I turn and walk away before she freaks out again.

"Megan!" She calls me pretty loud, I'm already kinda far from her. So I stop and turn around, waiting to see what she wants. "Could you come back here?"

I didn't really see that coming, I guess I expected some more yelling. I walk back to her house, go to the porch and lean back against a column, with arms crossed. She's sitting on a bench, her legs bended against her chest. She's not even looking at me, just straight forward, like she's not really there. So I try to examine her more carefully. I've never let myself get too close to anyone, not close enough to care too much. Never close enough to feel their pain when they're sad, or feel their fear when they're scared. But, somehow, just by looking at her there, I can almost feel everything she's going through. I just can't help it.

"I'm sorry, too. I overreacted, I was nervous, and… that was not the way I wanted us to meet. I was actually glad you came back. Most people wouldn't", she gives me a weak smile and I smile back.

"Yeah… that wasn't the way I imagined us meeting, either."

There's an uncomfortable silence for a while. None of us really know what to say. She probably has many questions for me as I have for her, but this is not the time to ask them.

"How are you?" I know, I know! This is like the most stupid question I could ask. Of course she's terrible, after what happened! I can say she's choosing her words before she answers. So I just add in something. "Lucas told me, you know, about…" I don't have to say anything else. She knows what I mean.

"Of course he did", she chuckles. I don't know if that's a good or a bad sign. "Did he tell you the guy's still out there?"

"No… not really", suddenly I'm not feeling very safe on this porch. "But… you're here, alone, with this guy on the loose?"

She shrugs. "Police's here. There and there", she points two spots near her garden, and I can see some guys I hadn't noticed before. "But… yeah, we should get inside. If he's still lurking, I don't want him to see you. Come on"

She opens the door and I get in. There's like 5 locks. She locks them all and we go to her room. She locks that door, also. Peyton goes by the window, I'm just standing by the door, not sure of where to go. I look around the room. It's all white, with the picture of this huge bulldog over her bed. There's a shelf with an absurd number of albums.

"So… where's that Led Zeppelin album after all?", I say, going through some of them. She seems in a daze, but when I ask her, she goes to the album and hands me one. The exact same one I was listening to when my parents first mentioned her.

"You heard the podcast, huh?", she asks, sitting on her bed.

I turn to her and nod, smiling. Luckily, she smiles back. "All of them, actually."

"Well, at least those things were good for something", she mumbles. She's probably referring to the stalker guy. I wonder if that's the way his obsession began: the podcasts. I should probably change the subject.

"You know, I was listening to that album when I found out about you", I point to the one in my hands.

"You're serious? You like Led Zeppelin?"

"I kinda didn't have a choice. My dad listened to it all the time when I was younger". At the mention of my dad, her expression changes a little. I can't really tell to what. Curiosity, maybe? Then I remember he's her dad, too. "Well, our dad… I guess", we both let our a nervous laugh.

"Really? He liked music, too?"

"Not really. Just this album in particular. He used to listen to it all the time. I remember he never really talked to me, or paid much attention when I was around. Sometimes, before I went to sleep, I'd pass by his office, and he'd be listening to this. He looked so happy… So one day I knocked and got in, I was about 6 years old, I guess. I sat on his lap and he told me this album reminded him of someone he loved very much, someone he hadn't seen in a long time. I already knew about Elizabeth, and I knew he was talking about her."

"So… him and Ellie… they met before he met your mom?"

I shake my head. "Right after they got married, really. My mom found out soon, then Ellie left and they never let it go. I got used to them fighting about her all the time."

"Oh… I'm sorry. So I guess you didn't really like it when he said the music reminded him of her, huh?"

"No, actually, it never bothered me. I never met her, but, for some reason, I liked her. On that day, I told him I wished Ellie was my mom, cause she seemed way cooler than mine", I laugh, remembering that talk, "and he said sometimes I looked more like her daughter than my mom's."

"I think you would've liked her"

"Yeah, me, too. He kept telling me about her, and I'd never seen him with such a true smile on his face. We talked till I fell asleep right there, with my head on his shoulder. I remember thinking something had changed that day. But then I woke up in the morning and he was just… not there. I mean, it was like I wasn't there, again."

"You're not close to your mom? She seems nice…"

"It's getting better now, that it's just the two of us. She's really trying, I guess."

"He left?"

"Yeah… things just… weren't working anymore" I can't tell her things got much worse after we found out about her. It's not her fault, but maybe she'll blame herself, and she doesn't need that now. "He wasn't exactly the best father. Well, they weren't exactly the best parents. They were never around."

I remember when I was younger. They were never there, and sometimes I got scared, and I was always alone. For a long time I wished I had an older sibling. Someone who would take care of me, and give me some advice. Basically, talk to me about the things I wanted to ask my parents, but couldn't. But for some reason I feel like it'd be weird to tell her that.

"My dad's never around that much either. But it's different. He has to work, and whenever he's home, we spend a lot of time together. I know he's not away cause he wants to."

"That's cool. _Your_ dad sounds way better than _our_ dad", we smile. But I soon turn more serious again, and squint my eyes in doubt, "So why isn't he here, now?"

"He doesn't know what happened", she turns to the side, not facing me. "I didn't want him to worry. There's nothing he can do, anyway."

"He can protect you. Peyton, you can't keep doing this alone, it'll only make it all harder on you!" Oops, I guess I'm being too loud. And maybe too nosy, too. This shouldn't be any of my business, should it?

"You think I don't know that? I'm living it, and I'm alone in this. Lucas is amazing, he tries to help, but he just doesn't get it! My dad wouldn't get it, either! Or Nathan, or Haley…", she stops and sighs, as if looking for words or a way to explain it, "I'm just tired of them having to protect me all the time, you know? That's not what I want!"

"What about Brooke?"

"What about her?"

"You said Lucas doesn't understand, Haley, Nathan. You never mentioned Brooke."

"That's cause she's probably one of the very few people who would understand, if not the only one. If she was around…"

"You're not scared?"

She gives me a small, sad smile. "Terrified. And it's even more scary when I realize I gotta be on my own for a while."

"Well, being on your own doesn't mean being alone, does it?"

"Sometimes it does, I guess"

"But this is not one of those times." I look at her and try to sound as sure as I possibly can, while I sit beside her by her bed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure…"

"What did you mean when you said it was all my fault?", I look down, not wanting to face her while I ask it.

Peyton sighs and looks down again, she keeps her eyes closed for a while before saying anything. "I told you, I was nervous, I said things…"

"No! You may not have meant to say it, but you meant the words."

"It doesn't matter, ok? It's not gonna help. But no matter what I said, none of it was your fault, ok?"

"Just tell me, it's all I'm asking you."

"It'd only mess things up in your head, Megan. Please, trust me with this, ok? Truth is overrated."

I have to laugh sarcastically at this. "I can't believe you, of all people, is telling me that."

"I know. Just trust me… if I'm keeping anything from you, it's for your own sake."

"Well, it's not gonna stop bothering me, but… I trust you"

Those are probably the hardest words for me to say, and you definitely won't hear them coming unless I absolutely mean them. She smiles as if, somehow, she knows that.


	10. The missing piece

_Yayyy! Ally has reviewed, so it means I'm updating! I hope you'll like this one! This is totally dedicated to Ally and Ky aka H. James! Specially the ending! LOL! You'll see why! Thank you so much for all the reviews, your support means a lot to me. And remember, reviews are love!_**

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**Chapter 10 – The missing piece**

"So how did you end up in Tree Hill after all?" Peyton asks me from her bed while I look out of the window. We've been talking for almost an hour now, mostly about silly stuff, music, even Ellie. But the girl won't let her guard down. Sure, me neither, in some ways, but that's not the point right now. She needs to talk about what happened, and of course I don't expect her to talk to me, she just met me, but lately it seems she doesn't have many choices on the friends department. Anyway, I tell her about me and my mom moving here, and mention something about school. That's when my cell rings. It's my mom.

"Hey mom, you still with Karen?"

"Yeah, actually, we're going to the café right now, eat something, you wanna meet us there?"

"Sure, I'll see you in like half an hour?"

"Alright, I'll see you then. Bye, honey."

"Bye, mom."

"Your mom was with Karen?" Peyton looks kinda surprised.

"Yeah", I smile, "They're getting along pretty well. It's good that my mom had a friend around here."

"How about you? Met any friends yet?"

"Actually, yes, I have. Those girls at school… Samantha, Nicole, Natalie, Jasmin…" I stop talking when I see the weird smile on Peyton's face, "What?"

"Samantha? As in… captain of the cheerleading squad in your school?"

I nod, returning the same smile. Of course she knows I don't exactly fit with the cheerleaders, completely different styles, and of course right now she must be thinking, better yet, remembering _she_ is a cheerleader, so she can't exactly lecture me.

"Just… be careful, or before you know it you'll be cheering on every single game with those", she throws a couple of pompoms on my face, "on your hands."

I laugh and almost choke on the pompoms that come in my direction while I talk. "Oh, don't worry about that, I'm not exactly cheerleader material."

"What? Blonde, thin, blue eyes, are you kidding me?"

"I'm a total klutz!" I stand by what I said, "I could never follow those moves."

"Sure. That's exactly what Haley said last year. Guess where she is every game night now?" she grins, and I see her point.

"Ok, you win! I promise I'll be careful!" I raise my hand, solemnly, while she smiles.

"Good girl!"

"So… my mom just told me she and Karen are going to the café, eat something. You… you wanna come?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea. I mean, with your mom there… Plus, I don't wanna run into Lucas, he might not be very happy with me."

"Actually, I just saw him before I came here. He wasn't mad, just… worried."

Peyton sighs. She won't leave the house, not even to go to Karen's café. And I can't exactly push it, maybe it's too soon.

"Look… I get it that you're trying to help, and I really appreciate it, but…" she stops and looks down, "I just wanna be alone, ok?", she says, quietly.

Damn, for a moment there, I thought I was getting somewhere.

"Yeah, sure, I'll just go, then."

"Hey, Megan… It was nice meeting you", she smiles, softly.

"You too, Peyton", I say it, and leave the house, on my way to the café.

I get there, and the moms are already eating and laughing. My mom gets up and hugs me when she sees me, Karen smiles and says hello as I sit by their table. The café is really nice. I had never been here, cause I was terrified I might run into Peyton, but I guess it's ok now.

"So, you finally decided to give us the honor of your presence, Ms Turner?" Karen says in a fake dramatic tone.

"Well, it was about time I came to see where my mom works, wasn't it?" I wink at my mom, and she smiles. "So what did you two do today?"

We talk – well, they talk, while I eat Karen's perfect food – and laugh, and it feels good. I guess my mom noticed I'm way more relaxed than I've been the last couple of days, cause suddenly she seems even happier. That is, until her cell rings, and she goes somewhere with a not-so-happy face, while Karen explains it's probably boring work stuff.

"Hey, Meg, how about I give you a tour of the café and Tric?" Karen asks, excited, and I happily accept it. I love this café! And then she takes me to Tric, _so_ cool!

"It's a little messy. We haven't had bands in a while. Peyton is the one who takes care of those things, but she hasn't been herself these last months."

"Months?" What is she talking about? The attack happened like a week ago. But then, there's the whole thing with Brooke, and, well… me!

"Yeah. I really worry, but she won't talk to me… or Lucas… or anyone else, for that matter."

"I saw her today", I babble out, before I can think. And then, as usual, I curse myself for talking too much at times.

"Really? I thought she wasn't leaving her house."

"She's not. I tried to get her to come here, but she barely left her room."

"You went to see her? Didn't know you were friends."

"Yeah, well, not exactly, but I wanted to check on her."

"You know, Lucas has tried to talk to her, and even I tried a couple of times, but she wouldn't open the door, or even pick up the phone. I don't even know how you met, but she must trust you, if she actually talked to you these last days. She's pretty… secluded."

"I guess…" I say, biting my bottom lip, "So… how long has it been since she stopped working here?"

"She hasn't stopped, she's just been… distracted, since Haley and Nathan's wedding", she smiles, understandingly, while I nod in silence.

"Karen? Karen!" we hear someone shouting her name, and go back to the café. "Oh, god, Karen, I'm so sorry I'm late, I had some…"

"Haley, honey, you're only 15 minutes late, it's not like I'm gonna fire you. Are you ok? Anything with the baby?", Karen put an arm around the girl's shoulder.

"No, no, everything's alright, it was just morning sickness… in the afternoon. And then I got this craving for chicken nuggets with chocolate syrup, but Nathan wasn't home, so I had to call and spend ten minutes trying to convince him to stop playing stupid basketball for two minutes cause his baby needed the food, and then… then… he said…", at this point I guess no one can really understand what the girl's saying, cause she's sobbing out of control. Karen looks at me.

"Hormones", she explains, "Could you go get her some water, Meg?"

"Sure", I immediately get up and go behind the counter, where I can listen to the girl explaining how insensitive her husband was being, until she cried out of control and he apologized till the moment she stepped out of the apartment. I go back to where they are and hand her the glass of water. "Here…"

"Thanks", she says, but looks a little confused.

"Oh, sorry. Haley, this is Megan, she's Susan's daughter. Meg, this is Haley, she works here, and she's Lucas' best friend since they were like 7."

"Hey Megan… nice meeting you", she says, a little calmer, but still between tears.

"You too… I actually met your husband earlier today, at the Rivercourt."

"You play basketball, too?"

"Not like those guys do. Just went there to look for Lucas", I shrug.

The rest of the afternoon goes by fast, actually, and before I know it, it's dark and I'm going back home with my mom. As soon as we get home, I tell her what happened before I got to the café, and she's really happy about it. She's being great with everything, and it seems she cares about Peyton, cause she keeps asking how she was.

The next day I'm sitting by the porch in my house, drinking some coffee, when I see this really cute guy passing by. At first I think it's Lucas, but when he notices I'm looking, he stops and looks too, and it's definitely not him. Hair's the same, though. He smiles and comes a little closer.

"You're friends with Lucas, aren't you?"

"Hmm… yeah, I guess so. You know him?"

"I play at the Rivercourt from time to time. Saw you there yesterday, but you left before I got there."

"Wow, you've got a good memory. I can barely remember people's faces even when I spend the whole day with them, let alone if I've seen them once, from afar", I laugh, and so does he.

"Lucas mentioned you were worried about Peyton, did you get to talk to her?"

"A little bit." Suddenly I don't feel too comfortable with some stranger asking those questions, even if he's Lucas' friend. At least he's hot. I'm starting to wonder if there's _any_ guy in this town who's not totally cute and hot.

"I hope she's doing better after what happened. You know how all of a sudden she has a half sister around, somewhere? Now, I don't really know the girl, but she's something. Hung up on Peyton's face when she tried to reach her, and then… well, let's just say that the guy who attacked her used that piece of information."

Who the hell is this guy? He shows up out of nowhere, knows stuff about Peyton that I thought she'd only told Lucas… and this last thing he said… I really don't have a good feeling about where this is going. He obviously doesn't know who I am, but he's talking about me, too. And even though he gives me the creeps, I know I have to listen to what he has to say.

"What… what do you mean?"

"He knew the best way to get closer to her would be to pretend he knew something about this sister girl. So he talks to Peyton, pretends to have some info on the brat, gets inside the house… and then you know… You know what's unbelievable? The so-called sister already knew about Peyton, so if she'd talked to her from the start, none of it would've happened. Of course, I didn't tell Lucas, either. He knew about the girl, too. It's his fault, just as much as this girl's."

I'm in shock. And right now, I don't care how this guy knows all of this, or why on Earth is he saying it to me, all I care is it makes sense. Why she blamed me and Lucas for everything, and why she was _so_ mad about us not telling her, and why she didn't want to tell me anything. And she was right. It hurts like hell. I could've prevented it, and the only reason this awful thing happened to her was because she wanted to find me. I look at the guy with tears wanting to leave my eyes, and I can swear I see a smirk, like he knows something, like he knows exactly who I am. He turns around to leave, but not before saying something else.

"Oh, and… tell Peyton I send my love"

"Who the hell are you?", I yell, on the verge of tears.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't even introduce myself", he puts his hand on his chest, and grins, before walking away. "I'm Derek."


	11. Still here

_This is a rather long chapter. I didn't even know what was gonna happen till I started writing, but I like the result. Thank you so much for the reviews and YAY, psycho Derek in the story is always a great way to shake things up! I'm glad you all liked it, and sorry to keep you waiting for so long. And thanks for roomie H. James and Ally for reading this one first and giving me their opinions on it! You rock! Please review! Oh, and I'm sorry it took me so long, I have classes in the morning and work in the afternoon now, so lately I haven't had much time to write. I'm trying, though!_**

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**Chapter 11 – Still here**

For a while, yesterday, things seemed to be going well, like everything was falling into place. And I woke up today, I was actually happy. Until this creepy Derek guy showed up and said what he said. I know I should be thinking of who he is, and how he knows so much, but I can't afford to, not now. I can only think about what he said, and what I'm supposed to do with that. I open the front door and look inside the house, just to let my mom know I'm going out. She's distracted, in the kitchen, so she just waves, not being able to see the tears falling down my face. I don't know where to go, I just had to get out. I don't wanna go to Sam, or Lucas, or Brooke. I'm walking for about 10 minutes, and I have no idea where to. And then it starts to rain. Real pouring rain. I'm way closer to Peyton's house than to my own, so I start to run the couple of blocks there. But I'm suddenly stopped by a strong hand that grabs me by the arm, making me turn around. I gasp when I see his face again. Derek.

"What are you doing? Leave me alone!" I yell and try to get him to let go of my arm, but he's like twice my size, so of course he's not letting go.

"I just need you to give big sis a message, since you're going there anyway", he smiles and reaches for his pocket to get something. Ok, so he's definitely the guy who attacked her. I'm terrified, trying to get away from him, when he grabs a pocket knife. I don't even have time to react before I feel the stinging pain on my upper arm. I scream as he lets me go, and my hand goes immediately to the cut. It's bleeding, and soon my hand's stained with the blood. I watch him come closer to me and whisper, "Consider it a warning"

I get up and run as fast as I can, my tears getting mixed up with the rain drops. I reach Peyton's house after what it seems like forever, but when I'm running through her front yard, I hear something.

"Hey! You!" I look around to see one of the cops who's been watching the house, "You're ok? What happened?" he asks me, concerned.

"I… I'm not sure. This guy you're looking for… is his name Derek?"

"Yes", he shows me a picture someone drew of him, "According to Ms Sawyer's description, that's what he looks like. Did he do that to you?"

I can only nod. The other officer soon joins us, and before I know it, they're asking me all these questions. Who I am, how do I know Peyton, why would Derek do that…

"Look… can I do that later? I just wanna go inside, ok?" I try to get out of the rain, but they don't let me.

"I'm sorry miss, but it's important that…"

"Hey!" I suddenly hear someone, and look at the porch to see Peyton there. "Megan? What's going on? Oh, my god, you're hurt?" she then runs to where we are.

"Ms Sawyer, we were just telling her that it's important that we ask some questions…"

She looks at me and sees I'm crying.

"What's the matter with you? I'm sorry, but she's soaking wet, she's hurt and she's terrified. I'm sure your questions can wait. Right?" she gives them a look that I'm pretty sure even the police dudes feared, cause they just nodded.

She puts her hand on my back and leads me into the house. My hand's still covering the big cut on my arm, my hair's all soaked, covering part of my face. She takes me to the kitchen and I sit by the table.

"You want some water? Juice?" she offers.

I shake my head, unable to say anything. Then she kneels in front of me, and carefully takes my hand away from my arm. I wince at the sudden pain. She looks at it quickly, and covers it with a towel, to try and stop it from bleeding any more.

"We'll take care of that, we'll get you into some dry clothes, and then you can tell me what happened, ok?"

I only nod, looking down. Damn it, I haven't stopped crying since I saw his face. Peyton takes some of the hair that's covering my face, and pushes it behind my ear, making me look at her for the first time today.

"Hey…" she says, softly, with a small smile, "It's ok now, you're ok. Now come on, let's take care of this."

She gets up and reaches her hand for me to take it, helping me to get up, and we go to her room. She hands me a towel, and while I try to get at least my hair dry, she looks for some clothes, that she later throws in my direction. Some sweats and a t-shirt.

"Come on, let's get your arm cleaned up first."

She cleans the blood around with a towel and then, carefully, cleans the cut, too. God damn it, that hurts. I close my eyes and bite my bottom lip, making a face.

"Sorry… it's not too deep, but it's big…" she says, while cleaning it. Then she wraps some bandages around my arm, "There… feeling a little better?"

I nod again, and smile weakly. Then I grab the clothes she gave me and go to the bathroom to change. I look in the mirror, my face's a mess. I don't think anyone's ever seen me like this, this vulnerable. Not even my mom. It takes all my strength to finally stop the tears from coming. I wash my face, which doesn't help much, and go back, sitting by Peyton's bed. She sits right beside me and hands me a hair brush.

"Your hair's a mess", she smiles.

I take it and try to brush my hair, but my arm hurts like hell when I lift it.

"Need help?"

I nod and hand her back the hair brush, she then sits behind me and starts fixing my hair. There's silence for a while, but this time, it's a comfortable one, nothing like before. A few tears roll down my cheeks, silently, and I finally manage to say something.

"I'm sorry"

It's so weak, almost a whisper, so I'm not sure she heard me at first. But she sits by my side again, and makes me turn, too, so I'm facing her.

"Megan, what happened? You have nothing to apologize for."

"You know it… you know as much as I do now. I'm so sorry, if I'd known, I wouldn't have hung up on you, I wouldn't have asked Lucas not to tell you I was here. I would've just talked to you from the start, but I was scared…"

She just stands there, looking at me in surprise as I say the words without thinking.

"I'm sorry", I say once again, now letting the tears fall freely.

"Megan, listen to me very carefully, ok? It wasn't your fault. You needed some time, of course you did. It's not every day you find out something like that about your family. You handled it your own way, and there's no way you could've known…"

"So it's true, isn't it?"

"It's true. It's true that it happened, it's sure that I should've been more careful with a complete stranger… but it's _not_ true that any of it is your fault."

"But you said it yourself…"

"Yeah, I did. And I'm the one who needs to apologize, not you. Truth is, if he hadn't used you as an excuse, he would've found another way. You couldn't have stopped it", I look at her to see tears in her eyes, too.

"I wish I could've"

She smiles, sadly. "I know". And after a while, she asks, "So… now are you gonna tell me what happened?"

I almost wished she's forgotten about that. Specially cause these last few minutes she seemed a bit more relaxes. I keep replaying his words in my head, and before I know it, I'm saying them out loud.

"Consider it a warning"

"What?"

"That's what he said… Give her a message. Then he said: consider it a warning", I say, still on a daze.

"Are you saying that… that this cut… he did this to you?"

I go back to only nodding and not saying a word.

"So he was also the one who told you everything… What kind of twisted warning is that? What the hell am I supposed to do?"

I can tell she's thinking out loud, so I keep quiet. Not that I would know what to say anyway. That's when we hear the doorbell and almost jump out of bed.

"I'll be back in a sec. Stay here, ok?"

I nod and she leaves the room. Not too long later, I hear what seems like punches against the wall, and crying sounds. I go to the living room and see Peyton sitting on the floor, crying, with two pictures on her hands. One, taken from afar, of me talking to the cops like 40 minutes ago, and another one, of Brooke, inside her car, the day she gave me a ride here. And right below the pictures, I start shaking as I read: _Don't say I didn't warn you enough._

"You were right all along. You should've stayed away."

"Does it mean Brooke's in danger, too?" I point to her picture.

"This guy knows me pretty well. I still don't know what he wants from me, I mean, he didn't tell me to meet him or anything, at least not yet. But, whatever he's planning, he's gonna use the most important people in my life to get it. So you can be damn sure Brooke's in danger. And she has no idea."

I sit by her side on the floor, and look at the pictures. Better yet, I look at myself in the picture.

"I'm sorry to get you involved in this. I'm sorry I got you hurt."

"It wasn't you, Peyton. You won't let me blame myself, I won't let you do that, either." I look at the cops in the picture and something comes to me, "How did he send these? How couldn't they see him?"

She gets up and looks outside the window, both cops are there.

"He probably asked some kid to bring it. He wouldn't risk coming too close to the house."

"Should we tell them about the pictures?"

"No. I have to find out what he wants, first. Last thing I should do right now is give him any more reasons to hurt you… or Brooke."

"Ok…" that's all I can say, while I hold my legs folded against my chest, my stare lost somewhere. I understand it better now, why she's so isolated from everybody, why she won't talk about it. Of course, what happened to me is not even close to what he tried to do with her. But now I know this guy is seriously dangerous, and I feel that if I never left this house again, it'd be too soon. "Peyton?" I say, still looking forward, nowhere in particular, "Why is he doing all this?"

"He thinks we're meant to be together. He thinks his obsession is love, he actually believes he's doing it all out of love", she chuckles, between tears.

It's weird that she's finally talking about what happened. I can feel the fear in her voice, and as I slowly turn my head to face her, I see the cuts on her face.

"He said we have this connection, that he understood me like no one else could, and then he started to… he forced himself and kissed me, and tried…" at this point she stops talking. She can't go on, she's crying too hard. I change my position so that I'm kneeling in front of her. I touch her arms, that are wrapped around her legs, causing her to look at me.

"I know there's not much a 13 year old can do to help, but I'll do whatever I can, ok?"

She smiles weakly and nods, before pulling me on a hug.

"This 13 year old already did more than anyone else could", she says, while stroking my hair, and I hug her tighter. Having a sister's not that bad, after all.

"Shouldn't Brooke know about this?" I say, resting my head on Peyton's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking of a way to make her listen to me without trying to kill me in the process."

"How did things get this bad, anyway?" she looks at me, and stays quiet for a while, so I say something else, "It's ok if you don't wanna talk about it, I was just curious"

"It's not like that… it's just that I was thinking of an answer to give you and I realized how much I screwed up already. Can't blame her for slapping me in the face", she sees my eyes are open wide in surprise, "Trust me, that's nothing, compared to what I did"

She tells me the whole thing. How she and Lucas almost had something, but then she freaked out, and he started dating Brooke. They betrayed Brooke, she forgave them, they kissed again the day Peyton got shot, and when things seemed to be getting better, and she was with Jake, she tells Brooke she's in love with Lucas. Lucas, the one guy Brooke has ever truly loved. I'm kinda confused about this Jake guy, but I'll ask her later.

"I just wanted to be honest with her, you know? I wasn't even gonna try anything, or betray her again. At that moment, it seemed like the right thing to do, but the moment I told her and I saw her face, I knew I should've kept my mouth shut. At least till I was absolutely sure what I was saying."

"You don't really love him?"

"He was always there for me. Always, no matter what. And Jake… he always left. So many times, and I was tired of that. Lucas has saved me so many times, like I said, always there. But when… Derek… when it happened, at first I was praying that Lucas would show up, like he always does. But when I realized he wouldn't, he couldn't know… it was Jake's face that came to my head. And I saw that Lucas… he keeps rescuing me, but Jake… he doesn't have to. He makes me feel strong, strong enough so I can save myself. In that moment, just the memory of him made me stronger. I guess I do have feeling for Lucas, and I probably always will have. But I think we need some… closure. It's not worthy losing your best friend over it."

"Wow!" That's all I said for a while.

"It's ok, you can say what's on your mind. Like I said, I know I screwed up."

"You really did", I blurt out. "I'll give you a free pass for the kiss in the library, cause he saved your life, after all. And maybe you had good intentions by telling Brooke the truth and all, but…"

"I deserved the bitchslap", she says, kind of waiting for a confirmation.

"You deserved the bitchslap", I conclude, and we both actually laugh quietly.

"You're really good at this pep talk thing, has anyone told you that?" she laughs sarcastically, and I return the smile.

"Ha ha ha! I'm sorry, I'm not good at this. Should I automatically be on your side, considering, you know, we share the same blood and hair color and good taste in music?" I grin.

"Probably", she nods her head, matter-of-factly, "I don't know, it's still new to me either. But I like honesty better"

"Good, me too. So.. that's why you said you were tired of everyone having to protect you all the time?"

"Yeah... and it doesn't mean I'm not thankful that they're always there for me… it's just… complicated."

"You know, if you tell Brooke everything you just told me, about Lucas and Jake, don't you think things would be ok again?"

She shakes her head. "It's not just about that, anymore, it's so much more than that. I hurt her pretty bad. A ten year friendship, Megan. And I ruined it, twice. She's so angry, I wouldn't blame her if she didn't even care anymore"

"She did seem hurt, but you can be damn sure she cares"

"You talked to her?"

"She lives right next to my house. I went to her to get your address the first time I came here. She asked me so many questions to make sure I wasn't a stalker or whatever, I swear the girl was two questions away from asking for a urine sample! So I told her who I am, and why I wanted to come here. And she was the one who drove me here."

I'm glad when I see she has a smile on her face, I can even see a little hope in her eyes. "She cares". She whispers, and gets up, helping me up, too. "Come on, we have to go warn her"

"What? You're… you're leaving the house? Can't we just call her?"

"I can't tell her something like that over the phone! Plus, it's harder to hang up on me if I'm standing right in front of her."

But I'm not moving. It's like I'm frozen, I can't get out of the house.

"We'll go in my car, he won't get a chance to get close."

I can tell she's not completely sure of what she's saying, she's just as scared as I am, if not more.

"Plus, I can take you home, and it's safer than you walking back there. It's getting dark in a couple of hours, your mom must be worried."

"Should I… should I tell my mom about…?" I point my arm.

"I think we should. I mean, she's gonna hate me for putting you in danger, but… she should know"

"What do you mean, 'we should'?"

"Meaning, I should talk to her and at least try to explain, so you don't have to take the short end of the stick"

"Thanks" I say, truthfully. And then I gather the courage to go outside. As soon as we open the door, one of the officers come to me.

"Is it ok if we ask you those questions now, Ms…?"

"Turner. Megan Turner" I answer him and look at Peyton. She nods, so I go to them – thank god it stopped raining – to answer the questions.

I don't lie about who hurt me, there's no use, I'd told them already, but I don't mention the two pictures that Peyton's carrying in her pocket right now. After 5 minutes they seem satisfied with the information they got, so they let me go. Peyton tells them she won't take long and we leave. She turns the stereo on, and I go through her CD's, till I see one that says "Cheer up, Sawyer"

"Brooke made this one once, before we went on an away game, but I didn't let her listen. I was scared to listen to the crap she must have recorded", she laughs, probably remembering Brooke's crappy taste on music. "Put it on, let's see what she got there"

_This should be fun_, I think, as I put the CD on the stereo. This hip hop rhythm starts to play, as we both roll our eyes. But then the song starts with _'You are my best friend, you've been right here through thick and thin' _and it goes on to _'My best friend, you're still here, and I love you,'_

I see Peyton smile and wipe a single tear away.

"It's not that bad", I say, smiling.

"No", she sighs, "It isn't"

We stop by Brooke's house, and I'm almost getting a déjà vu of when Brooke drove me to Peyton's. Same silence, same tension. And then Peyton leaves the car, and I follow her.

"Hey, Peyton… you wanna do this alone? I can wait, or go home. It's not far"

"Actually, I'd feel better if you could help me with this. If she doesn't listen to me, maybe she'll listen to you"

"Ok…" I walk closer to her and she knocks on the door.

We can hear Brooke laughing as she opens the door, distracted, looking inside the house. When she looks back at the door, and sees us there, she stops laughing. I'm not even sure if she notices I'm there, cause her eyes never leave Peyton's bruised face.

"Peyton…"

"Hey Brooke… Can we talk?"

I can't help thinking anything can happen at this moment. Fights, tears, bitchslaps, there's no telling what those two can do. They're not exactly normal when it comes to each other. Whatever it is that they're thinking of doing, I'm about to find out.


	12. Watching over you

**Chapter 12 – Watching over you**

"Look, Peyton, I don't wanna hear it again, ok? So, please, can't you just…" Brooke sighs, "Just go"

"No", Peyton answers, determined. Brooke gives her a look, but she doesn't move, "I'm not going"

"What do you mean you're not going? Fine… you can just stay there then, but that doesn't mean I have to stay, too", Brooke's about to slam the door shut, but I reach for the doorknob and put my hand over hers. That's when she sees me. "Megan?"

"Please, Brooke. Just listen, it's really important", I say. Maybe she'll listen to me, like Peyton said.

"Good! It seems like you know what this is all about, so _you_ can tell me!" she grabs my arm, excited with the idea, and wants to pull me inside, completely ignoring Peyton, and she almost touches my cut, making me flinch. That's when she sees the bandages and looks at me, worried. "Oh my god, what happened?" then she turns to Peyton, "What did you do to the girl? I knew you two weren't exactly best buds, but don't you think that's a little too much?"

"Oh, you slapped me in the face, and you wanna talk about 'too much'?"

I roll my eyes at both of them. They don't act like themselves when they're around each other. Well, not that I actually know any of them too well, but I've talked to both of them, and they're not like that. And yet, there they are, behaving like they're a couple of 10 year olds. So I roll my eyes. I roll my eyes at Brooke, for assuming Peyton was the one who hurt me. And I roll my eyes at Peyton, for bringing up the bitchslap, when just about 20 minutes ago we both agreed she deserved it.

"Would you two just stop it?" I say and turn to Peyton, "Can we get to the point already?" I say and look around, still afraid to see Derek popping out of nowhere, like he did before. Peyton doesn't seem much better than I am. I guess Brooke notices we're both really scared of something, cause she steps back, making space for us to get in.

"Come in", she moves her head, signaling for me to do as she said, then she looks at Peyton, "You too."

We both get inside the house and see Rachel, with her arms crossed. She doesn't seem mad at Peyton, I guess her problem's really with me. She even looks sympathetically at Peyton, she obviously knows what happens. The whole city knows, probably. And then she sees I'm hurt too, and her expression changes a little. She doesn't even wait for Brooke to say something.

"I'll be in my room, ok?" she tells Brooke, who just nods, smiling.

We sit on the couch, Brooke sitting across from us, her hands on her knees, tapping her fingers nervously. We sit around, silently at first, till I get tired of no one saying anything and elbow Peyton with my good arm. She gives me a look, but then finally starts talking.

"Brooke… I know you don't really like me right now…"

"Look, if you came here to talk about Lucas again…"

"No", Peyton interrupts her, "It's about someone more important than Lucas"

"Yeah, right", she chuckles, "Who could be more important than your beloved Lucas?"

"You", Peyton says it even before Brooke has the time to roll her eyes after asking her question.

"Really? Well, you have a really weird way to show it, you know that? God, Peyton…" she's getting upset, and she probably has a lot of things to say, but she just stops, getting up, pushing some of her hair behind her ear. "Does it have anything to do with Megan getting hurt?"

She looks at me, and I nod before Peyton answers.

"The person who hurt me, Brooke… is the same person who hurt Peyton"

I can see Peyton flinching as I say that. Brooke's eyes immediately go to her ex best friend, and for the first time since we got here, she shows she's worried. Really worried.

"He's around? Still? I thought the stupid police had him by now!" then she gets a little closer to where Peyton is, nervous, "And you're there, alone in that house? Why don't you just find him and invite him in already? Cause that's basically what you're doing! God, Peyton, how stupid are you?" she's yelling by now.

"Very! Ok? I'm very stupid, and I know it", Peyton suddenly gets up and faces her, tears falling from her eyes, "And most important, I was stupid enough to talk about _you_ in my podcasts! And I was stupid to let him know how much you mean to me, cause now…" she sighs heavily and throws the pictures on Brooke's direction, "Now he's coming after you"

Brooke slowly reaches for the pictures as I just sit there, watching the whole scene unfold. I try to think of something to say as I notice the look of complete horror in Brooke face when she reads what's written in them, but I can't come up with anything. Truth is I probably have the same look right now.

"When did you get those?" she asks, quietly.

"Half an hour ago", Peyton answers, her voice also weak, "Brooke, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to put you in any danger. And if you don't wanna talk about everything else, it's fine. I just need to know you'll be safe. That you'll be careful"

"Fine", she says, looking down, "I'll be careful. You can leave now."

"What?"

"You heard it, Peyton. Your work here is done, you came, you warned me. Plus, it's getting dark, you should be home before this creep tries anything else"

"Okay, we're just gonna go, then. But… please, don't give him the chance to get close", Peyton warns her once again. Brooke steps back, away from Peyton.

"I won't. Just go, ok?"

Peyton gets up and starts to walk to the door, slowly. I get up, too, wave goodbye and say softly, "Goodbye, Brooke. Take care, ok?"

"Hey, Meg", she walks to me, looking at Peyton quickly, to make sure she's not listening, "Are you ok?"

"Could be worse, right?" I give her a small smile, "You know it's not really her fault, Brooke. And up until now, she wouldn't even leave her house, the only thing that made her get out of there… was knowing you were in danger."

"Hey! You coming?" Peyton suddenly asks, halfway through the door.

I look at Brooke, who remains in silence, and turn around to go. "Yeah, sure"

"It's not that easy, you know? To let someone back in", Brooke says, a little louder, making me turn around, maybe even loud enough for Peyton to hear. And then she goes back to whispering. "I can't take care of her now. So I need you to do that for me. Can you do that?"

"I'm trying"

She nods, quietly, and waves goodbye as I join Peyton by the door.

"Be careful, B. Davis", Peyton says, once again, then we go back to her car. She sits and sighs.

"Well, at least this time you didn't get slapped, right?" I try to lighten the mood, obviously too soon. "Sorry. You ok?"

"I guess… Anyway, we should get you home now", she starts the car and drives the short way there in silence.

We leave the car and I see my mom sitting by the porch. She's surprised when she sees the bandages covering my entire upper arm. So she runs in my direction.

"Megan! What the hell is that? Are you ok? What happened? I was starting to get worried, I was gonna call you in a while…"

"Mom! Calm down, ok? I'm alright, but… I kinda, I need to talk to you about something."

At that moment I turn back and sign for Peyton to come closer to us. She locks her car and hesitantly walks in our direction.

"Hey, Peyton. Haven't seen you in a while", my mom smiles. I can tell it's awkward for both of them, but well, at least she's making an effort.

"Hey, Mrs. Turner…" she answers, her hands in her pockets.

"Come on, let's get inside", I say. Peyton and I rush into the house. It's like staying outside is the scariest thing now. Mom looks a little confused, she just follows us inside.

"Ok, we're inside now… spill!"

I was hoping she would skip the whole being mad cause I got into trouble part when she saw I'm hurt, but she realized it was nothing too serious and went back to using the 'your ass is _so_ grounded' tone.

"Mom… you remember how Karen told you about what happened to Peyton, right?" I start, carefully. My mom just nods and I go along. "Well, the guy… he's still out there"

"WHAT? You mean, he's the one who got you hurt? Why would he do that?"

"Mrs. Turner, I think I can…" Peyton starts explaining, but is soon cut off.

"Don't say another word, it's your fault she even got hurt in the first place"

The harshness in my mom's voice reminds me of her old self, the one who would fight and argue with my dad every single day. The one who wouldn't even say goodnight before I went to sleep. The one who barely remembered she had a daughter.

"I know that. I never meant to get her involved in all of this, I…"

"You think I care about this? All I care about is that my daughter is hurt, and she wouldn't be if you hadn't…"

"Mom, stop it!" I get tired, and I yell louder than her, placing myself between her and Peyton. I could see Peyton was about to break again, and my mom had no right to do that. So I face my mom and try to get her to listen, "Just… back off, ok? She didn't want any of this to happen, and you know it. She's been through worse than I have, so maybe instead of pointing your finger at her like that, you should be asking what you can do to help!" I'm still yelling. Man, am I gonna pay for that later! For now, though, my words seem to get to her as her expression softens.

"Why don't you two just sit down and tell me what happened?" she says with a sigh, motioning for us to sit. And se we do. We tell her – well, I tell her, Peyton's been pretty quiet – what happened today. Then Peyton finally spoke, to say she was sorry, and that she wanted my mom to know about the whole thing so she could make sure I was safe. Mom seems calmer. She talks about going to the police, but Peyton explains her reasons not to tell them, yet. It's dark already, almost 9pm when Peyton gets up.

"You have to know that I worry about you daughter, too, Mrs. Turner. So if you think she'll be safer if I stay away, then I will."

I'm about to protest when my mom gets up too, going on Peyton's direction.

"I know that… But you know what? She worries about you, too", she sighs before speaking again, "She's already in danger anyway, you both are. So… wouldn't it be better if you faced it together?" my mom, the woman who, up until 40 minutes ago wouldn't even let Peyton explain herself, smiles. She looks tired.

"You mean, you don't want me away from you both?" Peyton looks surprised.

"I mean you should have someone watching over you, too, Peyton. And I also mean it's late already and you shouldn't leave now. Why don't you stay here tonight?"

Peyton and I both look at her and none of us say anything. Still too shocked to say a word, probably.

"I… I don't know if that's such a good idea… I mean, thank you, I appreciate it, but…"

"But what? We've got guest rooms, no one's using them. And, of course, there's a huge king size in Megan's room, if you two wanna have a slumber party or something", she shrugs, and I get embarrassed. She's being such a mom right now! She turns a little more serious. "I mean it, you two have been through a lot lately, you deserve to relax a little. I can order a pizza, we'll eat and then you can watch a movie or whatever."

"Mom… you do know I have school tomorrow, right?"

"Sure. Just don't go to bed after like 2am and you should be fine", she says, dismissively.

"Plus, I've got my car here, I can give you a ride, that way your mom can go straight to work and we can get up a little later", Peyton smiles.

"Ok, it's settled then, I'll order that pizza", my mom says and grabs the phone. She's being way too happy for someone who just found out her daughter's in danger. But that actually helps me keep calm, too. And now it's just me and Peyton in the living room. She sits beside me again, on the couch, and I lean to rest my head on her shoulder.

"I'm tired", I say, my eyes almost closing already.

"Yeah… me too. Thanks, by the way"

"Thank you, too"

I look at the kitchen and see my mom at the phone, looking at us and smiling. I think I'm close to actually falling asleep right here in the couch when I hear Peyton's voice.

"Hey", she pokes me lightly, "Food's here, let's go"

She grabs my hand and basically drags me to the table. We eat and talk, and my mom's acting like nothing happened. Now, I'm all about denial, but with _this_? Either way, I don't bring it up, let her deal with it her own way. I can't stop from yawning all the time.

"Looks like that slumber party's gonna have to be postponed", Peyton laughs, making me and my mom laugh, too.

"I'm sorry", I give her my best puppy eyes.

"It's ok", she shrugs, still laughing, "I'm pretty tired, too."

We're standing in front of my room's door. It's strange, my room is all mine, it's always been. I'd go to sleepovers at my friends' houses all the time, but when they wanted to go to my house, sleep in my room, I'd always come up with an excuse and we'd go to someone else's place. I'm _that_ private when it comes to my room. The door's closed, and I'm not opening it.

"I'll be in the next room, ok? Good night, Meg"

I smile. She hadn't called me Meg before. Kinda cool. She seems to understand the room thing. I feel kinda guilty watching her go to the other room, but I just smile and say goodnight too. I take a shower and go to my bed, but I can't sleep. I try to write, but I can't do that, either. Everything's quiet, when I hear someone crying. It's so weak, I can barely hear. It's coming from the room in front of mine. My mom's. So much for denial. I close my eyes and try to shut it all out. I know it's selfish, but I can't do this now. Plus, I've tried to talk to my mom before, when she cried after a fight with my dad, and she'd tell me to go back to my room. I try to fall asleep, but soon there's a single tear rolling down my cheek. I get up and leave my room. Only, instead of knocking on the door of the room in front of mine, I go to the other one. I knock and slowly open the door. She's not asleep, either. I don't say anything, but I don't have to. She goes to the side of her bed, making room for one more person, and lifts the covers before looking back at me.

"Come here", Peyton smiles weakly. I nod, enter the room and lay down, facing her. She pulls the covers back over me.

"Couldn't sleep either?" she asks. I shake my head. "Well, you should try, otherwise you'll be walking around like a zombie at school tomorrow."

"You're right… So, you're going to school tomorrow, too?"

"I'll try", she says, simply.

I nod at her answer.

"Come on, you should really get some sleep. Your eyes were barely open in the living room, you need some rest, ok?" she asks quietly.

"Ok…" I really am tired, might as well get at least some rest. "Peyton?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're here"

She smiles and takes a stray hair away from my eye. "I'm glad to be here, too"

"Good night"

"Good night, Meg"

And I fall asleep, feeling safe for the first time since I woke up.


	13. You worry too much

_Guys! That's me! I know, you're not delusional or anything, but I've been busy, like really really almost going insane busy! Like my stomach getting crazy cause of the stress kinda thing. Okay you got the picture. I'm just gonna tell you guys something... Law school? Not picnic! So... this chapter's light and nice and happy, and you know why? Cause it's all dedicated to Ally on her 13th b-day! And it's actually chapter number 13! I thought that was kinda cool! So I know it's not June 17th anymore, but I haven't slept yet, so to me it still is. So here it is, Ally. I hope you like it, yay!_

_Oh, and everyone, don't forget to check out my story, _Our Farewell_. It's a short 6 chapters fic, it's on the 4th one now, so please go and review that one too. Things are starting to go back to normal, so I'll try really hard to update more often again. Cause I really missed writing this story. So you can expect more of it soon!_

**Chapter 13 – You worry too much**

"Meg! Meg, come on, we gotta go!" Peyton pokes me lightly, I mumble something and turn to the other side. What can I say? I'm a heavy sleeper. "Come on, Meg, I'd love to skip school, too, but your mom's probably gonna kill me if we just stay here, sleeping"

"Then we don't tell her, or we miss first period and just say we were feeling weird or something", I make a puppy face and whine a little, "Pleeeeease?"

"God, you're even worse than I am, you know that?" she says, before throwing herself in bed and going back under the covers.

"So does that mean I get to sleep some more?" I ask, excited.

"No. That means _I'll_ sleep some more. You can do whatever the hell you want"

"Wow, someone's grumpy in the morning"

She just shoves her tongue at me and laughs, turning back to face me. "You seem better. That's good", she smiles.

"You seem crankier than normal", I reply, both of us laughing for a while before I turn a bit more serious again, "You're ok?"

"I guess so", she sighs, "As long as I don't think about it too much"

"Well, you'll be safe in school, right? And then… well, then you'll go home…"

"And I'll be fine. We'll be fine, ok? I'll pick you up after school today, and I'll bring you home, and if you want to, I can wait till your mom gets here. You'll be safe"

"Ok", I nod a little, my hand instinctively going to the cut on my upper arm. Seeing that, she softly puts her hand over mine.

"Does it still hurt?" she asks, worried.

"Not that much", I lie. Still hurts like hell most of the time. I just don't want her to have to worry more than she already does. She doesn't need that. But when she takes her hand away, she ends up making a little pressure there, and I wince a little. Her expression changes.

"Liar!" she says, calmly.

"Hey, I didn't say it didn't hurt at all!" I defend myself, but she gives me a look, "Okay, fine, it does, all the time, happy now?"

"Yeah, happy… that's exactly what I am", she puts both her thumbs up in a fake smile. "But I will be happy if I can get some more sleep"

"_Now_ you read my mind", I smile and we both close our eyes, soon drifting back to sleep.

Seems like it's been 2 minutes, when she pokes me again. "Get up, right now, Megan! MEGAN!" she shouts and I cover my ears.

"Ouch, Peyton! Gee, what's going on, you decided you don't wanna miss first period anymore?"

"First period? We're almost late for the second one!"

"WHAT?" I almost jump out of bed. "Really? I felt like I'd slept for like 5 minutes"

"Yeah, it was a little more than that. Now get up before it's 3 o'clock and we're still in bed", she throws some of my clothes in me. "Damn it, I just remembered I don't really have any clothes here. Up! We're gonna have to stop by my place!"

I pick up the stuff she threw on me. My old jeans and my dark blue shirt with 'Don't blame me, blame my parents' written on it. Huh. Good choice, I gotta admit. I grab them and run to the bathroom to get changed. The t-shirt sleeves don't really cover the bandages, but as soon as I go back to my room, she throws me one of my jackets, as if she knew exactly what I was gonna say. "Thanks", I smile, and she signals for us to go. I grab my backpack and she grabs her car keys. I stop by the kitchen and take an apple for me and one for her and we go to the car, taking a bite of the breakfast.

"Oh my god, Peyton, you wanna kill me?" I say, loud, of course, cause otherwise she'd never listen, with the even louder music playing.

"Oh, sorry! You'd never seen me driving when I'm in a hurry, right?" she grins.

"Actually, it's not very different from how you drive when you're a little less crazy"

"Haha, you're funny", she sends me a fake smile, and I laugh as we park outside her place, "The cops are right over there", she points two guys I've never seen before, "I'll take 5 minutes, tops"

"Wait!" I grab her arm before she leaves, she looks at me and sees the fear in my face.

"Ok, let's go", she sighs and takes my hand once I'm out of the car. We quickly go inside, she takes a quick shower and changes her clothes while I go through her music collection. Once she's ready, we run back to the car and she rides us to school.

"Take care, ok?" she says softly, as I hug her before leaving the car, "And… I don't know, try to get distracted today"

"I will. You do that, too", I hesitantly get out of the car, not wanting her to go. I know, it's not like me to get attached to people, I guess I'm just worried. But I finally turn around and walk to school. I look back to see the car still there, she waves goodbye and leaves, too.

"So… one day you're gonna have to tell us what's going on, you know?" I see Emily coming in my direction. "The girls and I were wondering were you were", I can sense a concerned tone in her voice, "Everything ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine, I just overslept", I assure her, wishing she doesn't ask anything else. I'm not even sure why I can't just tell them all the truth, it's not like I need to hide anything anymore, now that things, apparently, are all sorted out already.

"Good, come on then! You and I have Social Studies now, you don't wanna get late for Mr. Travis' class", she gives me a side hug and we walk back inside the school, but when she touches my arm I flinch a little, again. "Meg?"

"I promise I'll tell you later, ok? Please?" I give that please-don't-push-this look, and she suddenly stops, going in front of me so that she's facing me, and brushing a bit of her dark blonde hair behind her ear.

"Are you in trouble? Cause you know, if you need anything, maybe we can help with something"

"You can't, Em. I'm sorry, but you can't. But it's gonna be ok, though. I promise"

"Fine. But if you need help…"

"I know. Thanks", I hug her again, and close my eyes, almost wanting to tell her everything. Only I don't, we just walk in class. I look at my schedule to check what the next class' gonna be. Gym, with all the girls. Great.

"Meg! There you are!" Sam comes near Emily and me, along with Natalie. "So… decided to drop the act and become a cheerleader already?"

I laugh loud at that. "Yeah, right. You can sit and keep waiting for _that_ to happen"

"One day, girl, one day", she says, all knowing, and I laugh again. "Let's go get changed"

Damn it! What am I supposed to do now? I can run and exercise and everything, as long as it doesn't involve moving my arm too much. But once I change, they'll see the bandages. "You know what? I guess I'll just skip it, I'm kinda lazy today"

"No way, Mrs. Turner! Your second week and you're already thinking of skipping?" I see our PE teacher coming out of nowhere. That can't be good for my reputation.

"Of course not, I was kidding", I give her a fake smile and go change. The girls are already in the gym, so it's pretty much just me in here. I put on my gym clothes and look at the bandages, trying to figure out what to do with that now.

"Hey! What's taking you so long? We're just waiting…" I hear no one other than Natalie yelling, and coming in my direction, but she stops when she sees my arm. "Oh my god, what happened?"

"I just… look, it's nothing, ok? Let's just go", I sigh and turn around.

"Wait!" she says, and I hear her opening and then closing her locker, and when I turn back to her, she walks closer and hands me her cheerleading jacket, "This should do the trick", I look at her confused. Isn't that the girl who didn't even like me last week? "What?" she asks, and actually laughs, "I _can_ be nice, you know? I just think it's kinda boring to be nice all the time", she winks, and points to the exit, "Let's go, before they send someone else here"

"Yeah, ok. Thanks…" I say, quietly, while putting on the jacket and following her.

"A-ha! I knew you were gonna cave in at some point!" Sam comes happily in my direction.

"What the…?" and then I see the jacket I'm wearing, "Oh, don't get any ideas, I was just cold"

"And _Natalie_ lent you that?" she looks at me in disbelief.

"Oh, shut up, I just didn't want to have to hear her complain she's cold the entire class", Natalie says, annoyed, and I look at her thankful. Who knew she could be this nice as to not even tell anyone about it?

The rest of the class goes by smoothly, I manage to change back quickly enough so that no one notices anything. Then it's lunch time. We all talk about our weekends, I make something up about hanging out with my mom on Sunday, and, before I know it, school's over for the day. I'm leaving the school with Mel and Natalie when I hear someone's car stereo blasting through the parking lot. I laugh and roll my eyes when I see her there. Not that I needed to see to know who it was. Peyton's leaned against her car, mouthing the words of the song that's playing. She then sees me and smiles as she walks in our direction.

"Meg, how was school?" she asks, coming next to us and giving me a warm hug.

I hug her back, tight. It's crazy that I actually missed her during school. "Good, I guess. Oh, those are Mel and Natalie", I introduce her to the girls, who are with their mouths open as they greet her.

"Hey", Peyton greets them, too, before turning to me, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'll go in a sec", I say before turning to the girls.

"So… you're explaining?" Mel crosses her arms and waits for me to say something.

"What? She works with my mom, I needed a ride home, so my mom asked her to come pick me up", wow! I don't think I've ever thought this fast in my entire life.

"Right… what's with the hug and being all friends all of a sudden?" Mel asks, still not convinced.

"She's just being nice, I guess"

"Alright, then. I gotta go home", she finally stops with the questions, but not before pointing her finger at me, "And don't think for a moment that I'm buying this nonsense, girl! You're so telling me later!" she smiles and leaves. That's when Natalie turns to me and finally says something.

"So… you have quite a life, huh?"

"I guess… look, Natalie, since I moved here, things have been kinda crazy, I found out some stuff and… it hasn't been easy"

"Just… ok, I don't expect you to just babble it all out, especially not to me", she gives me a small smile, "but what happened to your arm? Are you in danger or something?" she seems genuinely worried.

So I turn to Peyton. "Hey, are you in a hurry or something? I just wanna talk to Nat for a minute, is that ok?"

"Sure, go ahead"

"Okay…" I say it as I turn to Natalie, and we walk a little farther away from everybody else. I look at her and sigh, "What do you wanna know?"

She faces me for a moment, and seems to think of what to ask, exactly, before she starts. "What happened over the weekend? I saw your mom with Karen on the mall on Sunday. I was just wondering why you'd lie about something like that"

"I was with Peyton", I reply, quietly, not facing her.

"So… what's the deal? Are you two like… dating or something?"

"No, ew, Nat!" Dude, I did _not _need that image in my head. Then I see she's laughing and I ease up a little.

"Sorry, couldn't help it", I put up a grumpy face and hit her in the arm. "Ouch!"

"Sorry, couldn't help it", I grin.

"So…?"

"Alright, you know the guy who attacked Peyton in her house?" I start.

"Yeah?"

"Well, he's the one who did this to me", I point to my arm and she gasps.

"What? The guy attacked you? What could he possibly want with you? I mean, did he try something, or…?"

"No… no, nothing like that, I'm fine. See, thing is", I stop and look at her, I know now I'll have to tell her the whole thing. "Oh god. Thing is… please promise you won't tell anyone, at least not for now, ok?" I beg her and she nods. "Peyton's my sister", I manage to blurt out, and I can see that, from all the things that were going through her head, that was definitely not on the list.

"I thought she was an only child. Hell, _you_ told us you were an only child!"

"I was… I just found out about her, right before I moved here. She's my half sister, actually. We share the same lousy excuse of a father. This creep attacked me cause he's obsessed about her, and he wanted to send her a message. That's why I didn't wanna tell you guys anything, cause this guy, it's like he's everywhere, all the time, like he just knows stuff… and I didn't want any of you to be in trouble, either…" before I can go on, she hugs me. Natalie, the bitch, she hugs me and assures me she's not going anywhere.

"You worry too much, you know that? I say we talk to the girls tomorrow, just tell them everything. Maybe there's some way we can help you out"

"I don't know… I don't think there's anything to do…" I stop talking when I see her taking her cell phone out of her bag and sending the girls a message. _Cheer meeting, tomorrow after school._ I chuckle at that, but don't try to stop her as she hits the send button. Maybe I do worry too much. She smiles proudly as she puts her cell back inside.

"Take care, ok? We'll see you tomorrow. And don't you dare skipping again", she then turns around and heads home.

I slowly make my way back to where Peyton is, occasionally glancing back at Nat. "I think that girl's on drugs or something", I comment once I get closer to the car.

"Why? What did she do this time?" Peyton laughs.

"She was nice, she hugged me and she even offered to help if I needed anything", I reply, still looking at the direction the girl's walking.

"Scary", Peyton laughs as another girl approaches us.

"Peyton! What are you doing here?" the girl, who seems to be about Peyton's age, asks her.

"Bevin! Oh, hey. I just came to pick Megan here up"

"Oh, okay, I come sometimes to pick up my sister Tara, but I guess she's not out yet… wait! Who's Megan?" Peyton lets out a little laugh and then points at me. We say hi. But this Bevin girl still looks a little confused. "You're babysitting or something?" she whispers on Peyton's ear.

"Hey! I'm not a baby!" I mumble, annoyed, while Peyton seems to be having fun with this whole thing.

"No, I'm not. Megan's… well… you know, she…" she stops and looks at me, smiling, before she looks back at her friend and says it, "she's my sister."


	14. Could be worse

_Ok, here's the thing! I'm still on the beginning of the semester, so I guess I'll be able to update with a little more frequency for now. At least till midterms start and I go crazy again. But I'm really sorry it took me this long. I'm still here, though! Promise! And since I've got pretty much the whole story figured out now, I don't really have to worry that much about writer's block, LOL! It all gets easier. Anyway, enough babbling. And on with the chapter. As always, I'd love me some reviews so I can know what you think of it!_**

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**Chapter 14 – Could be worse**

"_You're babysitting or something?" she whispers on Peyton's ear._

"_Hey! I'm not a baby!" I mumble, annoyed, while Peyton seems to be having fun with this whole thing._

"_No, I'm not. Megan's… well… you know, she…" she stops and looks at me, smiling, before she looks back at her friend and says it, "she's my sister."_

Yeah, that totally took me by surprise. I thought she was gonna come up with some excuse, like I did, before. I can only smile, be happy. The other girl doesn't seem to understand anything any better than she did two minutes ago.

"Very funny. You don't have siblings, remember? So she just popped out of nowhere?"

"Well, if I can have birth moms popping out of nowhere, why can't I have siblings, too?"

"You have the weirdest life", Bevin girl states, making Peyton laugh, but then turns a little more serious, "We've been missing you at school, you know? Cheer practice's hell lately, Brooke's gone crazy, especially today"

"Yeah, she probably has some stuff in her mind. Don't worry. It's Cheer Nazi, after all, we should all be used to it by now"

"I guess… but you didn't answer my question"

"Bev… you didn't ask me a question", Peyton looks at her, amused.

"Oh, sure. I was wondering, when are you going back? Maybe it'll be better for you, get your mind off things", she says it, sweetly, while elbowing Peyton lightly.

"Maybe… I'll think about it, ok?"

"Ok", she replies, simply, then we see a younger girl walking out of school, "Oh, there she is", she waves to the girl, who sees her and smiles, then walks on her direction, but not before turning back to face us, "Take care, Peyton. And you", she points at me, "Take care of her, will you?"

I nod and smile, and she smiles back, waving goodbye. I open the car's door and get in, she does the same and puts on some random music.

"You said you were going to school", I start. It's not like I can blame her, but sometimes people need a little push.

"I said I was gonna try"

"Did you?"

"Hey, what's with the inquisition?" she says, defensively, while turning on the ignition and driving out of the school parking lot.

"Just wondering. Geez, calm down!"

We don't say anything else till she stops in front of my house, and doesn't move. I sigh, grab my backpack and leave the car. I'm halfway to the house when I hear the sound of her door, and then the alarm being turned on. I turn around, confused, to see her coming in my direction.

"I promised your mom I'd watch out for you till she got back, didn't I?" she says, almost coldly, and enters the house right after me.

"What's wrong with you? You were just fine, and I ask one simple question…"

"You said it like I'm not even trying, but you have no idea…" her voice starts to break, I can hear it, "You just don't understand, so don't pretend that you do, ok?"

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not saying I know what it's like, I just wanna help", my voice gets a little louder, "Sorry I cared", I roll my eyes and sit on the couch, my back turned to her. I grab my stuff and start writing something on my notebook. I don't even look at her, just try to let the words come. But then I hear steps coming closer, and lift my head up to see her right in front of me. She sits beside me.

"Ok, I'm sorry. I'm just nervous, I tried to go to school, but I couldn't, ok? I still can't, I don't feel safe. And I don't wanna talk about it."

I shrug my shoulders slowly. "It's up to you. It's just that you were talking before, so I didn't think it'd be such a big deal"

"Well, it is", she replies, bluntly, and goes to the kitchen to get some water. I sigh and go back to writing, in silence.

And that's all the talking we do till my mom gets back home. She seems nervous, which is totally understandable, considering the circumstances. I'm writing and Peyton's watching TV when we hear the door opening. It startles us at first, I instinctively go closer to Peyton, but then we see my mom there. The two of them talk by the kitchen for several minutes, and then Peyton goes away, just like that. Not even saying goodbye. Guess I really pissed her off this time. It's not like I was judging or anything, but I guess she might've taken things this way. I sigh heavily. Maybe she just needs some time. My mom sits near me and I rest my head on her shoulder.

"How was school?"

"Not that bad. How was work?"

"Not good. I couldn't stop worrying about my girl", she kisses my forehead and holds me closer. "Maybe you should go to work with me instead of school, you know, at least until this whole thing's over"

I actually smile. My mom's never been this protective of me before. She never cared that much, and it's good to feel that I actually have a mother now. In spite of what I feel, though, I try to act as if I'm not that worried.

"It's ok, mom. He can't get me when I'm at school, and even if I walk back home, there's always someone with me, he wouldn't risk it."

"Ok…" she tries to convince herself there's no danger. "I just don't want anything else to happen to you. Hopefully they'll get this guy soon enough"

"Mom? What did you and Peyton talk about just now?" I can't help asking it.

"I was just checking on her. You two fight or something? She said she wanted to be by herself for a while. She didn't sound mad, though, just a little upset"

"She really said that? She wants to stay away?" I can't hide the disappointment in my voice.

"This whole thing's a lot to take, Meg. For everyone. I guess each one of us has their own way of dealing with it, you know?" she looks at me and sees I don't seem convinced, "It's just a matter of time till they get him, and then things will get better"

"Promise?" I ask, as if I were 5 years old again. I just need a grown up around for once, so that I don't have to feel like one anymore.

"Yeah. I promise"

My cell phone suddenly rings, I almost jump out of the couch. I don't recognize the number, and when I pick up, no one says anything. That doesn't make me feel any more relaxed.

"Everything ok?" Mom asks.

"Yeah, just… wrong number, that's all", I manage to give her a weak smile.

We keep watching TV, or just browsing through the channels, with me constantly falling asleep only to wake up five minutes later with some loud music playing or an explosion scene in a movie or whatever. Then I finally go to bed. Sleep doesn't come easy, and when it finally comes, I almost wish it hadn't. It's like the guy's inside my mind. Everywhere, there he is. I hate it, I hate him, and I hate the damn police for not being able to get him. And he's still there. Every time I close my eyes, I wake up again. So I pull my covers to my head and curl up in bed, trying to think of anything but that. I look at the door and almost go to my mom's, but I decide I gotta be strong for now. Then I grab my cell and almost call Peyton, but I don't think she'd be very happy. Especially at this time of the night. When I look at my cell, I see the number that called me a couple of hours ago. It doesn't seem to be from Tree Hill, so I don't really think it was him. But who could it be? And why didn't they say anything when I answered? I doze in and out of sleep, and before I know it, it's time to get up already.

I can't blame anyone in school for the way they're looking at me, I totally look like a zombie. The circles around my eyes don't help my case.

"Gee, Megan, did you party up all night or something?" Sarah comes near me with the rest of the girls.

"Leave it, Sarah", Natalie replies, suddenly appearing behind me as I smile thankfully. Then she looks at the other girls and motions for us to go somewhere else. "Come on, we gotta talk."

"Oh my god! Meg, is this true?" all the girls' attention suddenly turn from Natalie, who just told everything she knew, to me. I'm glad I didn't get to talk much, cause I really didn't wanna have to tell the story all over again. I can only nod to their question, and wait for whatever reactions they might have.

"So this guy is like… after you? He could be watching you right now? He could be watching us?" Nikkie asks.

"I don't know, I guess so…" suddenly I'm feeling really uncomfortable, "That's why I didn't say anything before, I didn't want you to be in danger…"

"But now you decided it was ok that we were in danger?"

"Nicole! What the hell's wrong with you?" Sam and Mel talk at the same time.

"Look, Megan, I'm sorry you got into this situation, ok? But I don't see why we should be thrown in the middle of this, too. I don't know about everyone else, but I don't wanna have to look over my shoulders every time I'm walking on the street", I hear some mumbles, agreeing with her. Great decision, Meg. Go on and babble it all out to them. The not trusting people I used to do is getting better and better, maybe I should try going back to that. I don't reply, I don't try to make her stop as she turns around to leave. And I don't even move when Jasmin and Sarah follow Nikkie. Mel turns around, too, and runs to the girls. I just sigh heavily. I see Nat, Emily and Sam's faces as they look at the other ones in disbelief.

"It's ok. I can't blame them. They just wanna be safe", I shrug, trying to brush the feeling off. Pretty naïve of me to actually think they'd risk being around me after that.

"If they wanna be safe they'd better not come anywhere near me from now on", I look back and see Mel coming back, bringing a small smile back to my face, "I tried talking to them, they're idiots", she says, still looking at the three girls who left, before turning back to me and winking. "Don't worry. The four of us have always been the toughest ones anyway, this guy doesn't stand a chance"

I swear to god I'd cry if I wasn't so used at blocking my tears all the time. They all smile at me and Sam hugs me. "You'll be fine"

Then Mel and Sam lock arms with me and Emily runs in front of us. "Come on, losers. We're gonna be late"

To that, we all laugh and run through the halls. On the way to class, I can see Nikkie, Sarah and Jasmin from the corner of my eyes, but I don't do or say anything. I'm not sure how to feel about them. They're just scared. I'm really not mad, I'm just sad that it came to that. But I don't have much time to feel sad, cause Sam pulls me inside the class to tell me the latest gossip till the class starts. Things could definitely be worse.


	15. Just watch the fireworks

**Chapter 15 – Just Watch the Fireworks**

"Hey, Meg!" Sam rushes next to me by the time our last class of the day ends, "Your mom's picking you up?"

"Nah, she just called, she can't come. Karen was having her morning sickness, and Peyton…" I look down and swallow hard, before shrugging lightly, "Peyton hasn't been showing up", I mumble.

"In that case… you want some company to walk home? The streets are full of people this time anyway, I don't think there'd be a problem. Plus…" she hesitates for a moment and looks down, "I don't really wanna go home right away"

"I'd love that. You can stay till my mom gets home, and then she'll drive you to your place", we both smile and start walking, "By the way… thanks, Sam"

"So, what's she like?" she asks, after a few minutes of silence.

"You know, she's… she doesn't trust people, and sometimes it's hard to talk to her. But sometimes it's so easy. I don't get her, really"

"You're kidding, right? She looks at me, laughing, and when I look confused, she clarifies that for me, "She's _you_, only a few years older!"

"What?" I ask real loud, "Sure, we have some stuff in common, but…"

"Ok, let me ask you this, then: what _don't_ you have in common?"

I actually have to stop and think of an answer for that. Damn it, she's right, it's not that easy. But it occurs to me, and I look at her triumphantly, "She's a cheerleader! Ha!"

Sam just shrugs. "Just a matter of time till you're one, too", she says, matter-of-factly.

I have to push her to the side when I hear that, and hear a very outraged "hey" coming from her.

We get home, not too long after that. I look around before getting inside, checking the door and even the living room, and I'm still afraid when I walk in, but eventually I start to relax. I can see Sam's a little freaked out, too, even though she's trying to hide it.

"Sam, you don't have to stay, you know? I promise, it's ok if you wanna go"

"We need some food?" she says, all of a sudden.

"Wha?"

"I see you've got some pretty cool movies here, I'm thinking we should eat a lot of crap and have some laughs."

And so we do that. We basically don't stop eating throughout the entire movie. I'm going to the kitchen to get some more ice cream when my phone rings again, but just once this time. The same number as before.

"Meg? Is this…?" Sam starts talking, her voice shaky, with the phone in her hands.

"No", I go quickly and take the phone, "I mean, I don't think so. The number seems to be from out of town"

"Well, he hasn't showed up in a while, maybe he really is out of town"

"I don't know. I just think that if it really were him, he'd say something to freak me out, not just hang up."

I'm curious about this number, but I'm really not worried. I can't explain it, but I have this feeling it's not Psycho Dude. My mom gets home early this time, and she's happy to see Sam here. She watches TV with us for a while and drives Sam home.

Things don't change at school for the next couple of days, the other girls just say hi or wave when they see me, but they don't even give me a chance to talk and try to explain things better.

I'm walking back home after classes, by myself this time, when I hear someone right behind me.

"Megan!" a guy's voice calls my name and I go pale as I hear it. I turn around quickly, ready to scream my lungs out, when I see Lucas and Brooke.

"Shit, Lucas, you scared the hell out of me!" I look at Brooke, she has her arms crossed protectively around herself, and seems scared, too. "Brooke, what happened? Oh my god, did he…?"

"No", she rushes to say it, but then gets calmer, "No, he didn't do anything", she replies, quietly, to the question I didn't even have to ask.

"What? You know the guy?" Lucas turns to me and then back at Brooke, "You never told me she knew him!"

"I met him", I tell Lucas, and before he says something else I look back at Brooke, "So…?"

"I think I saw him", she lifts her head up and faces me, probably noticing the sudden lack of color on my face. "Not too long ago, right when we left school"

"You WHAT?" I yell and suddenly start looking all around for signs that he might still be around.

"I think we should go somewhere else", Lucas says, noticing the nervousness in both of us. He wraps an arm around Brooke's waist and I lift my eyebrow. I'd they they're together, if I didn't know better than that.

We decide to go to the café at first since Karen's not there, so the only person who might hear something is my mom… and Haley. Ok, I'd totally forgotten that Haley might be there, too. The last thing the girl needs is more reason to freak out. So we end up going back to my place.

"So…" I begin, as we all stand by the kitchen, for some reason, "You… you think you saw him?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I saw him. And it didn't seem like he was too worried about me seeing him there"

"Of course he didn't", I say it, more to myself than for them, "He wants to freak us out. In case you haven't noticed, the guy's not too right in the head", I point to my own head to show them what I mean. Brooke and I laugh, but Lucas keeps serious.

"Look, we gotta do something about it. Maybe if we called the police…"

"No!" I stop him before he finishes the sentence.

"Why not? If they knew he's around…" he tries again.

"Because Peyton doesn't want the police involved", Brooke whispers, and to that, I nod quietly.

"Exactly", I go on, still in a low voice, "She was worried it might make things worse, you know, if he knew it. He could become even more dangerous."

"And she he a point, Luke", Brooke turns to face him, placing both her hands on his chest. He holds them with his own, and then brushes some of her hair while caressing her face. I swear I could cut the sexual tension between those two with a knife. She closes her eyes, "We can't risk it."

"Alright", he finally caves in, sighing hard, before turning to me, "We'll call your mom, see how long it's gonna take for her to get here, cause you can't be alone right now"

"Yeah", I start to walk away, to finally sit on the couch, with my eyes fixating at the spot in front of me. Sometimes these things get to be too much, "Yeah, you're probably right", I'm not even paying attention to my own words anymore.

Lucas' phone starts to ring, and I actually get startled. Hell, every sound's been scaring me lately.

"It's Haley", I hear him telling Brooke, and then I can hear him talking to his best friend, something about money problems, I think.

"Hey", Brooke sits next to me, patting my knees softly, "How are you holding up, kiddo?"

"I'm not sure, really", I reply, carefully, trying not to give my fear away, "I just wish this whole thing could be over already. I'm tired of being scared"

"I know you are, honey. But if this creep's really around, they're gonna find him, eventually. They have to", she seems to whisper that last more to herself than to me.

"Brooke?" I say it quietly, finally getting enough courage to mention the person she doesn't wanna hear about, "If he's around, someone should tell Peyton. I know she's not your favorite person right now…"

"No, you're right. She should know. Can you tell her?"

"She hasn't talked to me in a while", the sad tone in my voice is evident by now, "She probably hasn't been talking to anyone"

I look at Brooke, studying her expression. I can almost hear conflicted thoughts, trying to decide on something.

"Fine", she says, at last, "I'll try and talk to her, before Lucas and I head back to the house", when she notices the look on my face she explains, "He's been sleeping at my place. Mostly cause it's been too hard being by myself. Even with Rachel there…" she sees my grin and smiles, "Nothing happened, he's just like my body guard"

I shrug my shoulders, simply, smiling. Lucas hangs up the phone and comes near us.

"Hey, Meg. You know what I was thinking?" he starts, after we talk for a while, "You should come watch our game tomorrow. I mean, you like basketball, you could use some relaxing lately, I think it'd be good for you."

"Really?" I look at him happily, "I'd love to, it's a great idea. Thanks, Lucas"

"No problem. It's always good to have more people cheering"

"Are you kidding? It's gonna be amazing! You can totally cheer with the squad, we could teach you, and you could be a guest cheerleader"

"Brooke, you're forgetting something: I'm NOT a cheerleader. Sam still hasn't convinced me. And she won't, if I can help it. No offense", I hurry to add the last part. She doesn't seem to mind.

Later that same day, at night, I'm in my room, lying in bed with the notebook I practically can't live without. I keep looking at a single paragraph I wrote a few days earlier.

_Don't let your head rule your heart_

_Don't let your world be torn apart_

_Don't keep it all to yourself_

I keep thinking if Brooke's already called Peyton, or gone there, and if she's been as sleepless as I have these last days. The more I think, the more I write. If she won't talk to me, this is my way of talking to her, even if she won't listen. The poem takes form, and it's soon complete. I read it and like the result. But, as always, I decide not to show anyone. I just fold the paper and toss it inside my bag. A few words won't make any difference.

The next day I'm at Karen's café with Haley, Lucas, Karen and my mom. Most of us are getting ready for the game, except my mom, who will be staying here to take care of things. Nathan walks in.

"Hey Luke. Ready for the game?" they do that weird guy handshake thing.

"Sure. You ok, man? You seem a little edgy", Lucas asks his brother.

"Yeah, just… big game, you know?" when Lucas doesn't seem too convinced, he rushes him, "Come on, Whitey's gonna kill us if we get late"

Then he goes to Haley and kisses her lovingly as they say goodbye and she wishes him and Lucas good luck at the game. Once we get to the gym, the first person I see is Sarah with these guys from school. And she literally passes by me as if she's never met me.

"Hey, neighbor girl, wasn't that one of your friends?" Brooke comes near us and I shrug.

"You're right. _Was_. Apparently, being chased by a psycho doesn't put me on top of the 'good for a friend' list", I mumble to her so that Haley and Karen don't hear. Not that they would, anyway, they're too distracted talking about their babies. I understand my 'friends' reactions, but is it wrong that I'm starting to get annoyed that they're not even saying hi anymore?

"Oh, I'm gonna give that wannabe cheerleader a piece of my mind!" Brooke starts pulling her sleeves up on full fight mode, and walks towards the little group Sarah's in, but I grab her arm and make her stop.

"Brooke, it's ok. Thanks, but it's not gonna change anything"

She probably feels a little bit of sadness on my voice and goes all sympathetic. "Are they all doing that?"

"No", this time I smile, "I still got Sam, Nat, Emily and Mel hovering around me all the time."

"Nat? The bitchy one?"

"Yup. Who knew, huh? They've been great, they make things seem easier."

"Good friends usually do", she winks at me.

"Speaking of which", I bite my lips as I wait for a moment, "Have you talked to her?" I don't have to explain who I'm talking about.

"I tried", she replies, sincerely, "I called, she wouldn't pick up. Then I went to her place after school today, but it was like she wasn't even there. I was about to get in, cause I know where she keeps her key, but I thought it might be worse. If Derek was there, he'd see it and… well, you know"

"Yeah, guess you're right. Well, thanks for trying anyway"

"Come on, now, the game's gonna start soon, and the whole point of you being here is to relax, right? TUTOR MOOOOOOOM!" she yells at Haley, making me laugh and almost go deaf, and they go inside.

"We should go find a good place, come on", Karen grabs my hand and we find a pretty cool spot.

Right before the game, the cheerleaders present their routine, and I can't help noticing Peyton's not with them. I didn't expect her to be, but I'd hoped she'd come. The whole game's a little weird. I mean, I never saw Nathan playing before, but he was supposed to be one of the best. The Ravens win, anyway, by 9 points, but it seemed he was… I don't know, holding it back. They won, but there was something off about this game. As soon as it ends, the cheerleaders run to the middle of the court to celebrate. I see Haley running to Nathan and him holding her up. Then I'm surprised to see Brooke and Lucas kissing. It's not just any kiss. It's a kiss of apologies, a kiss of forgiveness, of care. Of love. I have to smile at the scene, and when I look at Karen, I get the feeling she feels the same way about Brooke and her son.

When we meet everyone outside, on the parking lot, Haley and Karen feel tired, Lucas and Nathan rush to take them home.

"Meg, you coming with us?" Karen asks me while Lucas gets into their car.

"Actually, I could take her home, it's right next to mine anyway", she kisses Lucas' lips before whispering, "You're going to my place later, right?"

"Of course I'm going", he cups her face with his hands, "I missed you, Pretty Girl"

"I missed you calling me that"

"Ok, kids, pregnant woman here, not getting any more comfortable and rested", Karen raises her hands and we laugh. We all say goodbye. I get into Brooke's car and giggle as Summer Love, by Justin Timberlake starts to play. Gotta give Peyton that, her taste really does suck.

"Don't even give me that look, I'm not changing the music", she turns to me and laugh, as I do the same.

"Fine", I don't even try to change her mind, just look out of the window with my arm resting against the window glass. Not long after that I talk again, "Brooke?" I wait till she looks at me quickly and then back to the road, "She wouldn't even come, when she saw you were there?"

"Nop", she replies, quickly, and then there's silence again, until Brooke suddenly stops the car and turns to face me, "You want me to drop you off at her place? I can wait and see if she'll answer the door, if she doesn't, I'll take you back home"

"Really? Cause if it's too much trouble I can just go tomorrow…" I say it, but hoping she says it's ok, so I'm glad when she nods and says it's fine.

We get there pretty soon, and I almost run to her front door and knock. "Peyton! Peyton, come on, open the door, please?" I start off just talking loud, but soon go to yelling, "Damn it, Peyton, open the freaking door!" I bang on it, but soon realize she's not picking up.

"No luck, huh?" Brooke asks from inside the car.

I open my mouth to reply, but my face suddenly goes transparent. Right outside, not too far from us, there he is. The reason why my big sister is not even talking to me right now. The reason Brooke can't sleep by herself and I can't stay home alone. I run to the car as fast as I can, screaming for Brooke to drive away as he runs closer and closer to us.

"Brooke, GO!" I'm halfway inside the car when she starts driving away. I grab my phone to call the police so that he doesn't get the chance to go into Peyton's house. I dial 911, but then see the other car, coming in our direction, and Brooke turning the wheel to the other side, fast enough to avoid a collision. But then she loses control. I can remember pressing the 'send' button on my phone and holding onto the seat, for dear life. And then everything goes black.

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_Sorry to end it this way, but I promise I'll write the next chapter as soon as I can! I'm really trying to write a lot now, while I still have a little bit of time on my hands! I hope you liked the chapter. Please let me know how you like it, alright?_

**Songs: **chapter title, song by Jimmy Eat World. A few lines in the chapter from the song that names the story, _Someone Like Me_, by Attomic Kitten.


	16. Upside down

_I've had this chapter and the next one ready for a while now, but I don't have any freaking time to type them! But this one's here, now! And I'll try to get the next one up soon, too. I'm also working on the next chapter for Kill the Pain, should be up sometimes this week! Please review and thanks for reading!_**

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**Chapter 16 – Upside down**

"Megan! MEG! Oh my god, please, wake up!" I slowly start to hear my name being called, but I still can't open my eyes.

"GET AWAY! I told you, leave her there and come with me. Unless you'd rather have me take your other friend here." It's a guy's voice now. Definitely Derek, yelling from little distance. I try to move, but it seems too hard.

"Please, just let me make sure she's ok, first", I can hear Peyton crying, her hand holding mine. So I finally gather up enough strength to move my fingers. Just a little, but enough for her to know I'm awake.

"Well, then I guess I might as well kill this one first. She doesn't even like you, Peyton, doesn't even care about you"

Brooke doesn't reply back, but a couple of second later I hear her screaming in pain and Peyton running away from where I am. It's hard to figure out exactly what's happening, till I finally open my eyes and realize I'm still inside Brooke's car. Only it's upside down, and I'm trapped inside. I move the other arm and notice my phone's still on my hands, 911 dialed. So I just press send. While it rings, I look at Peyton, Brooke and Derek. Brooke's leg is bleeding, she can barely stay up, but he's making her stand.

"Let her go. Let me get an ambulance for them, and I'll go with you. I'll do anything you want", her voice breaks, and his expression changes into a twisted grin.

He lets go of Brooke, practically throwing her on the ground. Peyton kneels by her, but he doesn't give her time to do or say anything. He grabs her hard by the arm and starts to walk away. That's when I hear someone on the phone, and manage to say where we are before my strength goes away and I pass out again.

X X X X X

When I open my eyes, my head and my arms don't hurt anymore. I slowly turn my head to the side and my mom comes and hugs me before I can try to process what's happening. I'm at the hospital, have a small bandage on my forehead and my right arm all wrapped up in plaster.

"Oh, thank god you're awake. When Brooke called me at the café I thought I was gonna pass out", she strokes my hair softly while sitting on a chair right next to me. "How are you feeling?"

"Nothing hurts, so…" I start to talk, but suddenly feel tired and close my eyes, "I'm just tired"

"You've been sleeping for three hours, honey"

"You know I've always been lazy", I manage to make her laugh a little. "Mom?"

"Yes, honey? You need anything?"

"Peyton and Brooke", I breathe hard before continuing, it's hard to even keep my eyes open, "Are they ok?"

"Yeah… Brooke's leg was a little hurt, but she's fine. Peyton's really freaked out, it took the police a while to find her. They're not…" my mom stops and sighs heavily, "They're still not sure of what happened"

"Did they get him?" she just nods, which makes me feel a bit more relieved, "Is she here?"

"She was here till the doctors were sure you were gonna be fine, then she went home, little more than an hour ago"

I can't hide the disappointment I feel. It's weird, cause I don't really know her that well, but I wanna talk to her, I wanna know what happened, I wanna make sure everything's ok.

"But there's someone else who's been dying to see you", she smiles, and goes to the door to call her.

Brooke walks in in a hurry and jumps on my bed, getting a look from my mom and mumbling an "I'm sorry". But my mom just laughs.

"I'll let you kids talk", she pats my knee gently and kisses my forehead before leaving.

"You gave us quite a scare, you know? Your mom was really worried, but I knew you were gonna be fine. So I told her, but I don't think she actually believed me…" she looks at me and stops talking as I laugh a little. I guess it was pretty obvious she was giving me a headache. "So… you want some of this yummy food here?" she grabs the tray with a gross looking hospital food I hadn't even seen yet and tries to feed me like a baby. I know what she's doing. She's pretty transparent. Brooke's worried, nervous, even scared. I mean, her leg's hurt, and she jumped and sat on my bed like it was no big deal.

"Brooke…" she probably notices, from my tone, what's on my mind, so she avoids eye contact and gets up, "I know it's hard, and I'm sorry, but I need to know what happened. I can barely remember a thing"

"Meg, I don't think now's the time", she starts to walk around the room with some difficulty.

"What happened to Peyton? Why wouldn't she stay to see me?" I can feel a lump forming on my throat, as I speak a little louder. Seeing that I'm getting more agitated, Brooke comes closer again.

"We… we don't know for sure. But the doctors said she was fine, as least physically. Sure, she refused to let them do the other exams they wanted to…"

"Did the doctors tell you the same thing? That you're fine?"

"Yeah, just a few scratches, and the leg", she shrugs, and I go on.

"Are you fine, Brooke?"

She stops and faces me, before lowering her head. "I get it"

"After he left with her, how long till the police found them?"

"Twenty minutes, half an hour, maybe"

"That's more than enough time to…"

"I know", she interrupts me, not even wanting to hear the rest. Good thing, cause I probably wouldn't be able to say it, anyway. "I know", she repeats, with a sigh.

"Last thing I remember… Peyton was checking on you… he'd let you go, and you couldn't even stand, then he grabbed her", I stop when I see the reaction the words are causing on her, "I'm sorry, I just wanted to put it all together"

"The car crashed…" she starts, after minutes of silence, "It was upside down, I was able to leave, but I couldn't get you out. Before I knew it, he was there. Peyton came running… he got me before she could do anything about it…" she lets a couple of tears fall, but quickly wipes them away, "she wanted to make sure you were ok, but he kept saying…"

"…he was gonna take you instead, if she didn't go with him", I finish for her, "That's about the time I woke up", I explain, quietly.

"So she went, I couldn't even move. The ambulance came shortly after that. You saved us, you know?" she smiles, sweetly, "That's how they found her. If you hadn't called, he probably would've had plenty of time to run and hide. With her."

I nod slowly. It's not a lot of comfort right now, really. "You talked to her?"

"She wouldn't talk. Karen tried, your mom tried, even Lucas…"

"But you didn't. She would've talked to you", I say, surely, and suddenly feeling very tired. I close my eyes as my head aches, "God, I'm tired", I whisper.

"You'll be able to go home soon. I heard the doctors outside. Just a couple more hours. Anyway, I should be going, then, let you get some rest"

"Brooke…" I reach my arm to call her back. "Can you stay a little longer? Till they release me?"

She smiles and comes back, giving me a quick hug. "Of course I can, kiddo"

My mom comes back in a while, bringing Lucas and Karen with her. We talk a little, but they soon go back home, after Brooke says she'll stay a little more and reassures him for the hundredth time she'll call him the next day as soon as she wakes up.

They discharge me sooner than expected, right after I take a nice long shower, and, apart from a little pain on my arm, I'm ok. I just need to rest. But I can't. Not yet. I put my hand on my pocket and feel the poem I wrote, I'd put it there right before leaving the hospital. "Mom… I have to talk to Peyton", my mom and Brooke exchange looks.

"I know you do, sweetie. But first you need to sleep, it's past midnight already."

"I don't care. I feel better now, I'll just check on her and go home, it won't take long"

"Megan, that's it. We're going home, you can talk to her tomorrow", she starts to get mad, and I'm ready to argue. Luckily, I don't have to.

"Mrs Turner, maybe if we just stopped for five minutes, it's on the way to the house, anyway…" she tries.

"If you take me home, you know I'll go anyway", I mumble, and Brooke gives me a look. "Please, mom, drop me off, I'm fine"

"She's just worried. And maybe she'll rest better after she's seen Peyton"

I have to give Brooke a thankful smile for that, cause it definitely worked. This time I don't even knock, just start banging on the door and screaming. "Open this door, Peyton! Damn it, I'm not leaving this time until you open the freaking door!" I keep slamming it, with Brooke right beside me and my mom waiting on the car. "I'm telling you, I'm not going anywhere, and knowing that I just got out of a hospital, you might wanna consider opening the damn door!"

That's when she opens it. "Are you crazy? You just got back from the hospital and you're here?" she yells at me. Sweet. Then she takes her hand to her forehead. Her eyes are red and puffy, and she has dark circles around them. It's not till the yelling stops that she acknowledges Brooke's also there.

"What's wrong with you? You want me to apologize for wanting to make sure you were ok before going home? Too bad, Peyton, cause I won't"

"Well, I'm great, don't you see?" she says, sarcastically, before closing the door on our faces. Well, almost. Brooke stops her.

"Peyton…" she looks at her pleadingly, "Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" she looks back at Brooke, controlling her own tears, to keep them from coming, "Cause it's not worth it, Brooke, letting people in. I learned it the hard way"

Brooke stays quiet. There's no way to reply to that. That's when I take the poem in my hands.

"Fine. Just stay there, then", I throw the piece of paper on her direction, "That's for you. But it's probably not worth it, either." I turn to walk back to the car without looking back. Brooke doesn't follow. When I sit and close the door, I see her slowly opening the folded paper and her eyes filling with tears as she reads the words I've already memorized.

_Don't let your head rule your heart  
__Don't let your world be torn apart  
__Don't keep it all to yourself  
__Just let all your emotions run free  
__That's the way it should be_

_I know it's hard when you're feeling down  
__To lift your feet above the ground  
__We make mistakes, doesn't everybody?  
__You don't always have to agree  
__With someone like me  
__That's the way it should be_

_Someone like me  
__We know the story so far  
__Know what you want and who you are  
__Free  
__Let all your emotions run free  
__You don't always have to agree  
__With someone like me_

_Someone like me…_

She keeps looking at the piece of paper and falls on her knees, letting the tears come freely. Finally letting it all out. Brooke kneels in front of her and rubs her hand up and down Peyton's arm. For a moment I tell myself I don't care, but pretty soon it's my own mother who makes a decision for me.

"She shouldn't be alone tonight. Why don't I come and pick you guys up tomorrow? But you have to promise me to sleep a lot", she warns me.

I barely reply, already running back to the porch and kneeling beside them as the car drives away. Suddenly I remember Brooke needed a ride with us.

"Oh Brooke, I'm so sorry, you want me to call her back? She can come and take you home"

"Don't worry", she tells me, while holding Peyton's hand, "I'm not going anywhere"

"So…", my attention goes back to Peyton, who finally looks at me, "You like the poem?"

She laughs, before pulling me on a hug. "I love it."

* * *

_Megan's poem, once again, is the song that names the story, **Someone Like Me,** by _Atomic Kitten. 


	17. Perfect

_I realize you must all hate me, that is, of course, is someone still wants to read this, cause it seems like I abandoned the story. I promise I didn't! It's just this damn total and complete lack of time to do anything! I've had this chapter ready for the longest time, and I hadn't had any time to type it! But here it is now! I really hope things will get easier as from next month, so hopefully there will be more updates and I can get the story finished in a couple of months. Anyway, hope you're still reading, and that you enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

**

**Chapter 17 – Perfect**

She hasn't been to her room since she got back from the hospital. She's wearing pj's and her hair's wet, she has a pretty big bruise on her left cheek. I notice it when she follows us inside the house. Brooke's at the kitchen, making us some hot chocolate, Peyton and I are in the living room, sitting on the couch in silence. She's calmer now, but still a little shaky. She's got both her legs folded, the piece of paper with my writing still on her hand.

"How's the arm?" she asks, quietly, and I look at her, shrugging.

"Not that bad, really", I yawn and lean my head back just as Brooke comes back, limping, with three cups of hot chocolate. I get up and help her with them, "You shouldn't even be walking that much, go sit down"

"Fine, MOM!" she shoots back while sitting, and I can see Peyton laughing a little, for half a second. "Seriously now, Meg, I'm not the only one who should be resting. You should be in bed already", she takes a quick glance at Peyton, "We all should"

"No", I reply back, "not before I know Peyton's ok", Brooke seems taken aback, and even Peyton looks up at me.

"She's right. Go to bed, we can talk tomorrow", Peyton says. I'm sitting beside her, so I turn over and look into her eyes as my own fill with tears.

"What did he do?"

"He tried", she starts, and wipes my tears slowly, "but they got there in time"

At this moment, both Brooke and I let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank god", Brooke whispers to herself, but we all hear, and she pretends she didn't say anything. But then she looks at Peyton, carefully, "Did he hit you?"

"He… he wanted to kiss me and… you know", when she cries again, I hold her hand. She goes on. "I kept trying to get away, so he hit me. Then I stopped fighting. I didn't want to, but I didn't have the strength anymore. He was so close to…" she stops. There's no way she could go on. I pull her close and hug her.

"He's gone now, it's over. And you'll be fine. Even if I have to go there and kill this guy once and for all", I say it, only half joking. I could so kill him right now.

Brooke gets up from beside me and, with some difficulty, walks and sits next to Peyton. She pulls away from me and faces her former best friend. Brooke takes some of Peyton's hair from the girl's face, careful not to hurt her where she's bruised. "He's locked up, and he's never coming anywhere near you, ever again"

They look at each other, all unspoken words between them almost visible. "I can't even go to my room, Brooke. It's like he's taken it away from me"

"Then we'll fix it. Whatever he took, we'll get it back", Brooke says, determined.

"We?" she asks, quiet, unsure.

And Brooke hugs her, showing her she means it. "Yeah. We, P. Sawyer"

"How about… everything else?"

"We'll sort things out, with time", she replies, sweetly, while pulling away and facing her, "All I know is you're not gonna do this alone". Peyton nods, wiping the remaining tears away. "Alright… now we gotta get this one to bed", Brooke points at me and I roll my eyes.

"You know, I'd argue with that, but I'm too tired to do it", I grin and turn to Peyton, "Where are we sleeping?"

"My dad's room, I guess. It's more of a guest room, anyway. First room upstairs", she points it with her head, but I don't move, "You want me to go with you?"

"No, it's fine", I lie, god knows why.

"We won't be long", she reassures me with a smile, I nod quietly, with half a smile. I walk up the stairs and immediately turn the lights on. It's not hard to find the room. First thing I do is close the curtains, then I take off my shoes and crawl under the blankets. I can't bring myself to turn the lights off. It's actually hard to even close my eyes without seeing him. It doesn't matter that he's locked up, he won't go away that easily. Almost an hour later, and my eyes are still wide open. The door opens slowly, and even though I know it's them, I still cringe. Peyton notices the lights on and walks to the bed, sitting next to me and placing her hand gently on my shoulder. "Can't sleep?" I shake my head in response, and she starts to stroke my hair for a while, before getting under the covers, too. "It's weird, huh? When you feel this tired, you're exhausted, and you can't even sleep…"

I nod, facing her, "It's been hard to sleep, lately."

"I'm sorry, Meg. I'm sorry you got caught in the middle of this whole thing"

"Don't be", I reply really fast, then turn to face the ceiling, "He's the one to blame for this mess, not you"

"I was trying to protect you, you know?" she looks up, too, "When I kept you away, yeah, I was kinda mad at first, but then I just didn't want him to be able to get too close to you. Worked out pretty well, huh?" she lets out a bitter laugh, and we stay in silence for a while.

"We're all fine, Peyton. Even with everything that's happened, we're all here. It takes time, but eventually things will get easier. I mean, they have to, right?" I look back at her, biting my bottom lip.

"Yeah… yeah, they have to"

"So… things are better with Brooke?" I ask, trying to change the subject, seeing that we probably won't be able to sleep anytime soon, anyway.

"Seems like it", she smiles, "I guess those are the times you realize how much you really care about someone. When you're close to the possibility of losing them, everything else seems small"

"I'm glad you're working things out", I say, truthfully.

"You know, she asked me, downstairs, if I still love Lucas. You should've seen how relieved she was when I said no. She told me they got back together"

I nod, smiling. "I saw them. She was pretty freaked out with Derek, they got closer after that"

"Well, at least something good came out of this mess", she smiles, half heartedly, and I agree, but look at her carefully.

"Are you really ok with the two of them?"

"You know, Meg? I'm not just ok, I'm actually relieved that this drama's coming to an end. Maybe she can begin to forgive me, now"

"I think she already did", I smile.

We talk some more. We talk about the girls in school, and Jake, my mom, her dad. And then she asks something I've been avoiding thinking about. Our dad. "Do you miss him? Do you miss things, the way they used to be, in Charlotte?"

"Sometimes I do", I admit it, for the first time since I got here, "Nothing's been normal since I got here, you know? Sometimes I do miss Jordan, he was one of my friends there, had this really cute older brother", we both laugh before I go on, "And Anne, we'd always hang out after school. And there was Dave, too… they weren't my best friends, you know? I never trusted anyone enough to consider them that, so it's not like I miss them all the time. But it's weird, not having them around. I kinda wish I could go back, sometimes." Wow! Talk about saying too much! I realize a change on her expression and realize that might've sounded a little different than what I was actually thinking, so I make sure to add, "It doesn't mean I regret moving here. Even with everything that's happened, I wouldn't change my mind. I don't regret meeting you, or coming here today after the game. I'm just sorry the accident had to happen before he could get caught once and for all"

She cringes, and doesn't mention Derek anymore. "Who knew, when you found out about me, the sister package would come with all this drama, huh?" she half jokes, and I look at her in the eyes, to make sure the message gets through.

"Peyton, I mean it, ok?" I sit up as she does the same, and I rest my head on her shoulders. Then I remember something from her podcast. Something she said her mom used to tell her, and I say it, not changing my position. "If I could line up all the big sisters in the world…" I talk, slowly, and she pulls away just enough to look at me with a big smile, her eyes starting to water. She knows where I'm going. "I'd choose you", I finish by touching her nose, lightly.

She pulls me in a tight hug and it seems the both of us are finally able to relax a little. "I'd choose you, too", she kisses my forehead, before talking again, "Too bad we didn't grow up together, huh? That would've been interesting"

"Are you kidding? We probably would've killed each other by now", we both laugh at the thought.

"So what happened today was what? Me, trying to make up for the lost time and killing you all at once?"

"Funny", I mock her, "Already joking about it, I see"

She shrugs. "Trying"

"Good", I smile, honestly, "Hey, where's Brooke?"

"I don't know, really. I said I was too sleepy and I was coming here, she said she'd stay up a little longer and then come"

"Is she ok?"

"She's scared, but she's a genius at hiding these things", she talks about Brooke in a way only someone who's known her for so long could. "I guess she wanted to call Lucas before sleeping. He's pretty good in crisis", she smiles.

"We're all becoming experts at that, by now", I roll my eyes and she laughs. I look at her and she yawns loudly. "Someone's sleepy"

"I haven't slept in a while"

"You should try, you sure deserve some sleep. We all do"

She nods in agreement and we lay back down. She curls up and closes, falling asleep not too long after that, frightened, waking up from a nightmare.

"It's ok. Just a bad dream", I whisper, calmly, holding her gaze.

"Another one", she says. She sounds tired. "You haven't slept, yet?"

"Nah… wanted to make sure you're able to sleep, first"

She smiles and reaches her arm for me to rest my head on it, and holds me. "Thanks", she strokes my hair, and with that, I realize how tired I really am, "But you need to sleep more than I do, ok? I'll be fine"

It's hard to fight the sleep now, so I eventually give into it.

Surprisingly, the usual nightmares don't pay me a visit this time. Instead, I dream of my family. Or at least what I thought was my family. My mom, my dad and me, at the table, having breakfast together, just talking. That scene had last happened a long time ago, when I was little, and it used to be like that a lot. I loved breakfast, then. I didn't even mind waking up early, cause it was basically the only time of the day when they'd actually acknowledge me there. Peyton walks in while I'm eating a bowl of cereal, greets them, calls them mom and dad, and then complains that I used all the milk and tells me to hurry up cause she'd drop me out at school. It's hard to explain how it feels, to see this moment that never really happened. I feel… complete, whole. And then I wake up with a loud crash.

First thing I see, by the nightstand, is a picture of Peyton, as a little girl, with her dad, Larry, and her mom, whose name I have yet to ask. Makes me strangely sad to realize the scene I dreamed of could never happen. I look to the other side and Peyton's awake, too.

"What was that?" she asks, and when I shrug, she yells Brooke's name. That's when I look at the clock. It's almost 7 already. Can't believe I slept for more than 4 hours, straight.

"I'm good, I just… dropped my phone, that's all", she yells back, from god knows where.

"Your _phone_?" Peyton says, incredulously, "You're kidding me, Davis?"

I can't help but laugh and wonder what the girl's up to this time. We hear this huge crash, and that's the excuse she comes up with? Peyton and I get up at the same time and walk through the hall, gasping in surprise when we see where she is.

Peyton's room. Only it doesn't look like her room anymore. The walls are white, with a few details in black. The furniture's rearranged, and there are pictures of her and Mouth, Brooke, Haley, Nathan, Bevin, Skills, Jake, and even Lucas. And one picture with her parents.

"Brooke… what… what did you?" she tries to ask, at a loss of words.

"Your room's always been more than a bedroom. It's your sketch book. Your life, your mood, your feelings", she starts to explain, "and it was tainted, someone stole it and painted some bad things on it. So I thought you could use a new one. It's yours, and no one else's. And he's not here anymore. The only people who are here are the ones who care about you", she points at all the pictures, "The ones who love you"

"Brooke… did you stay up all night doing this?"

"I needed something to keep my mind off things. So… do you like it?" she asks, still a little unsure.

"Do I like it?" she walks to her and hugs her, "I don't even know what to say. It's perfect"

"Good", Brooke grins, satisfied with herself, "Oh, and by the way, we still don't have any pictures with Megan, so I took the liberty to…" she makes an innocent face and hands us the Polaroid picture: Peyton and I, asleep, doing some weird face. We burst out laughing as Peyton puts it with the other ones.

"_Now _it's perfect", she smiles as Brooke lies in bed, followed by the two of us.

* * *

_AN: When Meg mentions something Peyton says on her podcast, it's the one when she says her mom used to tuck her in to bed and say to her: "If I could line up all the little girls in the world... I'd choose you". So I wanted to add that into the story, somehow!_


	18. Picking up the pieces

**Chapter 18 – Picking up the pieces**

"The girl sleeps like a dead person", I whisper to Peyton, referring to Brooke.

"Give her a break, she worked all night long. You and I slept for like 4 hours before she finished, and 4 more now", Peyton whispers back.

"Four now? It's 11 already? Wow! I gotta call my mom", I get up, but Peyton stops me.

"Already did that. She called earlier, asking about you. She just asked me to let her know if you felt something weird, or acted different"

"I feel great. Really. You know what? I'll talk to her anyway, maybe she'll relax a little", I grab my phone and dial her number, "Hey… mom?"

"Meg, you alright? Sleep well? Want me to go pick you up?"

"Mom, calm down", I laugh, "I'm great, just woke up, I'm well and rested. I was just wondering… is it ok if I stay here a little longer? I'll sleep at home today, I promise", I look at Peyton, while expecting an answer not just from my mom, but from her, also. She simply winks and nods.

"You deserve a nice, quiet day, for once. Just let me know when you want me to pick you up. Love you, kid"

"Love you, too, mom. I'll see you later", I hang up and turn to Peyton, "You hungry? Cause I could use some breakfast", I try to sound casual, like I'm not worrying anymore.

"Not really", she shrugs, on her way to the kitchen, "but on, we'll fix you something"

"You're really not eating anything?" I ask her, while enjoying my cereal.

"Not right now", she replies, distractively, playing with a spoon between her fingers.

She's too skinny. And not in a good way. She probably hasn't been eating right for weeks. And now that I'm paying attention, she's very pale, also.

"You have to taste this thing. I put some honey over it, it's delicious", she knows what I'm doing, and makes a face, "Please?" I make my cutest puppy face.

"Fine. But just a little bit"

"Good enough for me", I smile. She eats. Like she said, just a little, but it's better than nothing.

"Peyton?" We hear Brooke's voice from the room upstairs, and Peyton rushes on her direction. I follow right behind. Brooke's sitting by the bed, covered with the blankets.

"Hey, you're up", Peyton gets closer, "Sleep well?"

She bites her lip and shakes her head. "Not really. And I woke up, and you two weren't here. I was just a little freaked"

"Sorry, my fault", I raise my hand, from the doorway, "I was hungry"

"No problem", she smiles weakly at me, "I'm fine, it's just a bit scary being alone, that's all"

"You had nightmares, too?" Peyton sits beside her, with her legs folded against her chest, while Brooke simply nods and doesn't say anything else.

"You want me to bring you something to eat?" I ask, quietly.

"Nah, not hungry"

I roll my eyes. "Come on, not you, too. I'm gonna have to start force feeding you two if you don't start eating"

"We'll eat, promise. Just not right now", Brooke assures me.

"Fine. You guys wanna go out for a walk or something?"

"Now, that's a pretty good idea!" Brooke brightens up and turns her attention to Peyton, "What do you think?"

"Actually, I… I'd rather stay home. Besides, Brooke, you can't even walk"

"So? We'll drive somewhere. Peyton, he's in jail", she brings up the subject carefully, "It's still scary for all of us, you know? But at some point you're gonna have to start living again"

"It's not that easy, Brooke"

"Of course it isn't", I sit in front of them and look at Peyton, "No one's saying it is. Look, let's give it a try. We'll take your car, drive somewhere close. If you wanna come back, we'll come"

"And you won't complain if I wanna come back before we even get somewhere?" she raises her eyebrow.

"Double extra promise"

Right before we get to the Rivercourt, we can already spot Lucas and Nathan there. But they're not playing, they seem to be arguing. By the time we're out of the car, Lucas is getting away from his brother. He doesn't eve see us, but Brooke calls him out.

"Hey, what's going on, you two were fighting?" Brooke asks when he gets near. I look at Nathan, he's still playing, by himself.

"Just stupid brother stuff", he replies, kissing her. "Good to see you out of the house", he says to Peyton and hugs her.

I keep looking at Nathan playing, and decide the three people near me probably need some time to think about themselves, so I sit on the bench and watch him play.

"Hey, kid. How about a one-on-one here?" he asks, his eyes never leaving the ball. That's probably why he asked me, cause he hasn't seen the cast covering my arm.

"Sorry", I raise the arm, "can't even throw the damn ball"

"You have one good arm, don't you?" he grins, "Come on, I'll give you a four point head start. Just some free throws"

"Fine", I get up and he throws the ball. I get it without much difficulty. My arm doesn't really hurt, it's more of a protective measure, I think. I throw the ball and make it. Two points. As long as I don't have to run, surprisingly, I'm able to throw. Surely, my left arm is not as good to throw the ball as the right one, but once in a while I lift the other one up to help, and it works.

"Nathan! What the hell are you doing? She can't play with her arm like that!" Peyton takes the ball from us and gives him an unpleasant look.

"It doesn't even hurt, Peyton!" I tell her.

"Plus, she's kicking my ass, anyway. 16 to 10!" Nathan states, and both Peyton and I roll our eyes at the exact same time. It's kinda cute that he's letting me win, though. "Fine… but we'll play again when you get better and I'll get my revenge", he points at me and I laugh while nodding.

"I promise"

"Ok. You start practicing, then, kid", he starts to walk away, but Peyton calls him back.

"Nate… everything ok? Lucas didn't say what's going on, but he seems to be worried about you"

He sighs hard and hesitates before saying anything. "Don't worry about me, alright? Everything's fine. I'll see you at the game. Take care, you two", he leaves, not convincing any of us.

"Where's Brooke?" I look around and don't see her or Lucas around.

"She went home, or to Lucas', and then they'll go see Haley, I guess"

"You didn't wanna go?"

"I wanted to stay here a while longer. You were right, it's good to be out of the house"

My phone rings. I pick it up, annoyed. It's probably the same number that's been calling for the past week. When I get it, I see there are several missed calls, from two different numbers, as if the same person had been trying to call from two different phones. One of them is the same from before. But the other one I know pretty well. I keep looking at the screen. Damn it. When he left us, he didn't say a word. And he didn't care to call or show up in more than a month, and now he calls? I don't feel like talking, we never really talked, even when he was home. I'm surprised he even knows my cell phone number. I must've gone pale, cause Peyton's beside me in a heartbeat.

"Meg, who was that, what's going on?"

"Can you… could you just take me home?" I look up at her, with a lump on my throat. I wanna tell her, I wanna talk to someone about it. But I can't seem to.

"Are you alright? It wasn't Derek, was it? I mean, it can't be him, he's in jail"

"It's not him. I promise", I sit on the bench and put my head in my hands. She follows and sits next to me, wrapping an arm on my shoulders.

"Well, whatever it is, if you wanna talk about it… you know…"

"Yeah", I smile, "I know. Thanks"

"Alright, then. Let's get you home. Your mom will be happy to see you"

My mom. I hadn't even thought of her. Should I tell her? Nah. Hopefully he'll quit once and for all, when he realizes I'm not picking up the phone. I can't help wondering what he wants with me, though. Did he miss me, and just wanted to say hi? Yeah, right, that doesn't sound like him at all. Did he go back to the house in Charlotte and saw I wasn't there anymore? I don't believe that, either. But I'm not picking up, or calling him back. No way. I'm not _that _curious.

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_As always, thanks for those of you who've been reviewing. I'm finally on vacation, yayyyyyy! So you can expect more updates more often! Hope you're still interested in the story, and review? Please? _


	19. Gossip Girls

_I know I've been away for a long time, and I'm not even sure of someone still reads this, but I'll finish it anyway, it's a matter of honor! I've had this chapter written since forever, but I hadn't typed it yet. I have another chapter for Kill the Pain, too, and I'm working on another one for this story. It may take a while, but I promise to finish both stories! I'm sorry for the delay, but the real world just plain sucks sometimes! If anyone still reads this, please leave a review and let me know! Highly appreciated! The title for this chapter is from... well, do I really need to say it? From my second favorite show at the moment!_**

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**Chapter 19 – Gossip Girls**

I never got much attention from people in school. Never bothered me, either. It's not like I was ignored; I had friends, but I never stood out. Just a regular student, and I was just fine with it. Things seem to have changed. I noticed it the first time I stepped foot back in school, after staying away for about a week. Obviously, everyone knew about accident, and about Derek, and, strangely enough, they seemed to know Peyton and I are half sisters, too. Probably a courtesy from Nikkie and her friends. Thing is, I've been walking around this school for the past two days, and there isn't one second that passes by that I don't hear whispering everywhere I go. The fact that my friends are the most popular girls in school combined with all the gossiping about me resulted in us getting full attention from the student body. They may be used to it, but I'm not.

"That's it!" I smash my tray on the table and sit down next to Mel. "I just heard these two guys saying I have drug problems and Derek was my dealer"

"WHAT?" Nat snaps and gets up, looking around.

"Oh, and I didn't tell you the best one, yet", I smile sarcastically, "I'm the one who gets drugs for all of us, and that's why Jas, Nikkie and Sarah don't even talk to us anymore. Cause they thought we were going too far"

It's actually amusing to see the looks on Sam and Mel's faces. They're kinda like mine, when I first heard the story, ten minutes ago. When I turn to see Nat's face, she's already halfway to where Jasmin is. I grab Mel's arm, taking her attention from talking to Sam and pointing to the pissed off brunette getting nearer and nearer her former friend till they're face to face. Little by little, the cafeteria falls silent. We can hear whispering all around at first, till Nat starts talking.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" she doesn't say it too loud, but at this point, everyone's listening. "We never did anything to you, and one day you turn your backs and go. And now you're simply attacking us for no reason? And drugs? Drugs, Jasmin? You don't think you're going a little too far this time?"

Ok, _now_ she's yelling.

"What can I say? I don't hang out with junkies", Jasmin grins.

My turn to walk over there. The other two soon follow me, and by the time we get there, Nicole and Sarah get up from their seats near Jasmin.

"You have a problem, you know that?" I start, "But it's fine, cause apparently your problem's with me, so why don't you leave them alone and deal with me?" the whispering starts all over again. "You were scared when I told you he was following me? Fine, I get it. I get it why you kept your distance. What I don't get is why you have to be such a bitch about it. That's your idea of being a friend? You laugh and talk, and the minute things get hard you walk away? Ok, but if you couldn't handle it, stay away. Don't go spreading lies all over school to make it seem like you're not a coward who turned around and left the minute there was a problem"

Silence. Real silence this time. If one hair fell off my head we'd all hear it hitting the floor.

"There wasn't a problem", she shoots back, "till you came along"

Sam puts her hand on my shoulder, and I step back. She's by Nat's side, now. Which is good, cause Nat looks like she's about to punch the other girl, and Sam is the most reasonable one. She holds Nat's hand down. "Don't get in trouble because of Jasmin. She's not worth it. Plus, she's got enough problems of her own as it is, so let's just go, ok?"

She surprises everyone with her tone. It's almost caring as she talks about the black-haired girl who, along with Mel, was her best friend. I'd never stopped to think, in the middle of all this mess, the maybe all the girls miss each other. They used to be inseparable, after all.

When Sam turns to go back to our table, Mel glares at them one last time before going, too.

"Nat…" her voice is weak, so weak I'm not even sure I heard it. But the five of us turn back and face Nikkie. Her voice is sweet, much to our surprise. When they lock eyes, Nat's gaze softens a bit, and she sighs.

"Nix, just… leave us alone, ok?" her eyes close, and she looks tired, "You know none of this is easy, so it'd be good if you didn't make things even worse"

The angry glares are gone from both parts, but no words are spoken anymore as we go back to our table. The talking starts again, and in a short period of time everything seems normal. At least now maybe people will think twice before believing everything they hear. Nonetheless, our table still seems to be the center of their attention.

"They must be pissed that no one cares about what they do or where they are anymore", Mel states, "Jas, especially, always liked the attention"

"And cheerleading? How's practice?" I ask, trying to change the subject a little.

"It's a little weird, of course. But they're always there, and they're great cheerleaders. It hasn't changed"

We eat in silence till I say what's been on my mind for a while now, "I'm sorry, you guys. I mean, sorry I caused this. You miss them, of course, you've been friends for so long…"

"You don't have to go on. And it wasn't your fault", I love Sam for saying this, but her tone reveals a hint of sadness.

"You miss them, don't you?"

"Of course I do", she manages to say it after a brief moment, quietly, "But it's the way they've been acting, I was actually disappointed at them. I always thought they were better than that"

"Either way, Meg, don't blame yourself. Who knows? Maybe they'll snap out of it, eventually. You saw Nicole, right?" Nat points out, "They're not evil or anything, they're just scared, and selfish"

"Well, I'm still sorry"

"Girls, hey. That was some intense fighting just now. Didn't know things were that bad"

Ben. Plays basketball, a year older than us, and, along with Ryan, he's the star of the team. The girls love to cheer for those two. The guys on the team eat on our table every once in a while, and sometimes with Jasmin and the others.

"Yeah, when they start spreading rumors that we're doing drugs, it means things are REALLY bad", Mel replies.

"Megan? How about you? I heard about what happened, I was worried when you didn't show up that week"

I'm barely paying attention to the conversation till my name is mentioned. I lift my head up to look into his beautiful green eyes and smile. We never really talk much, just the usual small talk at lunch, and sometimes between classes, when I'm with the girls. But he'd never talked to me, specifically, before. God, he really is cute. Dark hair and green eyes. Can't get better than this. My daydream is suddenly interrupted by Nat elbowing me, hard.

"Oh, sorry, yeah. You know, I just needed some time away. But it's getting better now"

"Must be tough, huh? Well, if half of what I heard is true, then not only were you attacked, but you were attacked by your half sister's stalker. A half sister you didn't even know about till a while ago, and who turns out to be Peyton Sawyer"

I smile and nod, "Yup, all true"

He sits with us, earning a scary glare from Sarah, and soon the other guys do the same. Getting the attention from the entire school can be pretty annoying. Extra attention from all the cute guys in the team? Not so much. I think of it as a reward for all the bad events that took place lately.

"So…" I turn to the girls, "Everything ready for us to go to the big finals this Friday?"

"Whoa! State Championship? You going?" Ben suddenly seems very interested.

"Yeah, my mom's taking us. You guys couldn't get a ride?"

"Actually, Ryan here can't go, and his brother was gonna take us, so Fred and I are back to square one"

"Well, Karen must be going, too, since Lucas is playing. Maybe I could talk to her, I don't think she'd mind giving you a ride"

"You serious? I would owe you one, big time"

"You know what? I'll just call her now and we'll find out"

I leave to go just around the corner and call her. It makes me a bit nervous to be alone with so many people around. I can almost see the freak watching me, and it's not a good sensation. I call Karen quickly, and she seems happy to help the guys out, cause that's how cool she is.

"It's all settled", I flip the phone closed while sitting back with them, "We'll all meet at the café a few hours earlier. You guys know where it is, right?" When they nod, I go on, "Good… be there at six, we'll leave at the same time, with my mom"

"Dude, you rock!" the guys smile at me, then high five with each other.

My phone starts to vibrate and, for a second, I'm afraid to pick it up and see the number. Afraid it's that waste of a father of mine again. But I smile as I see Peyton's picture on the screen.

"Peyton, hey. Everything alright?" at the mention of her name, not just the ones on my table, but also the people around us start to pay attention. I definitely wasn't born to be noticed, cause I hate it! Trying my best not to be heard by them all, most likely without success, I talk to her.

She called to say she's back in school, too. She'd been away for so long, but today she decided to face it all once and for all.

"You should see the whispering everywhere I go, it's getting annoying. It'd be worse if Brooke hadn't threatened the last guy who said anything. The staring stopped a little, after that. How about you?"

"Almost the same, actually", I stop and whisper quietly, "You should see their faces when I picked up the phone now", then go back to a normal voice, "But the staring never stopped"

I can hear her laughing on the other side of the line, "You'll get used to it, eventually. You'll go crazy if you don't ignore them, trust me"

"Easy for you to say, you've been a part of the popular crowd since you were like 5!"

"Nine, actually", I can almost see her grinning.

"Whatever, Peyton", I sigh, annoyed, then talk in a softer tone again, "How do you do this?"

"They'll forget it in no time", she guarantees, "if you don't let it get to you"

_A little too late for that._

"What are they talking there? Cause I've heard so much crap already, you wouldn't believe", I make a point in saying that last part really loud.

"Well, so far I've got… he's a crazy ex-boyfriend I dated before Nathan, he's my long lost half brother who lost his mind after his dad died, and, oh, my favorite one, he was my drug dealer"

"Wow! Ok, you win. But I got the drug dealer thing, too. What about this half brother thing? Does it mean… they don't know about me?"

"No. Not yet, anyway. I wasn't sure you'd be ok with it"

"Considering everyone here already knows about you, wouldn't make much of a difference"

"They know? Wow, didn't see that one coming"

"Is that ok? It wasn't me who told them, but Sarah and the girls know, and decided to spread the news"

"It's ok, Meg, you don't have to explain yourself. It's not like it's a lie"

"Peyton, come on, time to class", I hear Haley's voice, apparently next to Peyton.

"Hales, Peyton, you coming?" this time it's Lucas who talks.

"Seems like you've got yourself an army there", I laugh.

"Yeah, they won't let me take a single step by myself. It would be annoying, if I wasn't so freaked out. But I do have to go. Try not to go crazy there, ok?"

"I'll try. I'm glad you're back to school, you know? Things will get better soon, you'll see"

"I know they will. They have to. Bye, Meg"

"Bye"

"So… she's going to the game, too?" one of the guys asks me.

"Probably", I shrug, "I think Brooke's taking the girls in her car"

"You know Brooke Davis, too?" he seems to like the news, "Dude, she's hot!"

"She's also dating, and she's like 5 years older than you, in case you haven't noticed", I roll my eyes, earning a giggle from the girls. Guys can be so weird, sometimes.

As I look around, people are starting to gather their stuff to go back to their classes. At least for the moment, most of them are minding their own lives. And then I see my friends all laughing and feel a little more at ease. Maybe Peyton's right, and things will actually go back to normal if I keep acting like there's nothing out of the ordinary going on. I get up to leave, and a few people come and ask me how I'm doing. People I don't even know. The attention's not going away anytime soon. But if the cheerleaders, the guys on the team, if Brooke and Peyton and Nathan can do it, if Haley and Lucas got used to it, maybe I can, too.


End file.
